A Secret Friend
by AngeliqueBelrose
Summary: When a new vigilante appears in the streets of New York, every handles the news differently. Some think it's a great thing to have someone fighting against crime, while others want them stopped at all costs. But when the vigilante learns of others who fight as she does, brothers begin to keep secrets from each other in the hope of having just one friend on whom they can rely.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! Brand spanking new account here, looking to keep her online anonymity and just post some old fanfictions that were started a long time ago. Essentially, I have an account on here already that I use for other stories, but I recently discovered a lot of things that I had written back in high school (we're talking like five or six years ago minimum here) and a few of them were actually kinda decent. Or at least they were fun. Anyway, I want to re-work a bunch of them so that they don't sound quite as childish and post them here to see what others think of them. This is the very first one, which I hope will become a series now that the gears of my brain are working on it. With any luck, _A Secret Friend_ will be the first of six completed stories just with these characters and under this heading. So when you're reading, please feel free to leave me a review and let me know if you like it! I won't tolerate flamers, but constructive things are always appreciated as long as you're polite.**

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**Chapter 1**

"Hurry up, Jackson!"

"I'm sorry boss, but this lock is giving me trouble."

An exasperated growl sounded from the throat of the husky blonde male as he glared down at the man attempting to pick the lock of the jewellery store door while a third man glanced around anxiously. They had been planning this heist for the past two weeks, following and watching the movements of the owners to gather a good idea of the merchandise inside, ensuring that the job was worth the time and effort. But as the store was in a fairly isolated location that police did not often patrol, the opportunity had been too good to pass up. Their employer required only one thing from the inside; they could take anything else they wanted. All they needed now was to get inside before someone saw them and became suspicious of the three larger men who stood outside at such a late hour of the night.

The blonde man ground his teeth together in frustration, the fingers on his hands beginning to flex and move with unwelcome anticipation. Any minute now someone could wander by and interrupt them, wasting all of their efforts in a manner of a few seconds - then they would have nothing. Even worse, they would probably lose the job to some amateur thug who would draw far more attention to the robbery then they would. Without another moment's pause he balled one of his beefy hands into a tight fist and thrust it through the pane of glass on the door, instantly setting off the loud wail of the alarm system.

"Problem solved," he declared gruffly as he unbolted the door and ripped it free of its hinges. "Now move."

They had only about fifteen minutes before the police would arrive in response to the alarm, so they had to work quickly. All three men stepped through the door with forceful steps, broken glass crunching beneath their feet as they approached the glass display cases and proceeded to smash those as well, robbing them of their decorative contents. It seemed like the ideal job; get in, locate a single item, take whatever else they pleased and leave before they were caught. The employer had requested that they make as little mess as possible in terms of casualties, wanting the least amount attention drawn to the robbery as possible - but of course, should someone threaten the operation they would need to be dealt with.

With throaty chuckles they proceeded to smash every case that came within their reach, regardless of whether or not they planned on removing anything from the inside. The bigger the mess they left, the better they would feel about their job. That was just the way it worked for them. But when they reached the large necklaces and precious stones near the back of the store they knew that they had hit the jackpot. These things would see for quite a price on the market that they frequented, without a doubt.

"Those rubies don't match that outfit at all, but they'd look simply darling with an orange jumpsuit. Let me hook you up."

A snarl escaped the curled lip of the blonde as he turned sharply back to the doorway with narrowed eyes. _It would figure that she would show up_, he thought to himself in frustration. There had been quite a few sightings recently of someone who always seemed to arrive on a crime scene before the cops managed to get their act together and respond to the call, but he had yet to encounter her until that night, the very night he had been anxious to avoid.

She wasn't very big, he quickly noticed, which probably accounted for the way she apparently appeared and vanished in the blink of an eye. And a majority of her face was hidden away by a black mask that would safely conceal her identity from anyone who attempted to look for her during the daylight hours. Black leather boots clung to her calves and cut off just before the knee while the rest of her body seemed to be covered in some kind of spandex body suit. It was a deep purple on her legs, until it seemed to vanish under a pair of black shorts that hugged her hips and thighs. The rest of her costume was made up in the same way, with longer sleeves in the same dark purple coming from the ends of the black short sleeved shirt that matched the mask over her eyes.

And on a belt at her hips, he noticed a pair of sais as her choice of weapon.

She leaned up against the door frame with her arms folded loosely across her chest, smirking brightly at them as the light flooded in from behind. Her dark hair had been pulled into a tight ponytail at the back of her head to keep it from her face, an elastic band making a small dent in the hair around her face to show that yet another article was used to keep her eyes free of obstacles. Though the odds in the room seemed to not be in her favour, she showed no outward signs of fear as she gazed deeper into the room and assessed all three of the men who stood about with their hands laden in jewels.

"So, this is the famous Hunter," he smirked, signalling for the other two to continue about their task of gathering up the jewellery. "I must admit, I'm disappointed. Word on the street was that the Hunter was a terrifying warrior that all men should fear. But what I see is nothing more than a little girl in a Halloween costume."

A laugh sounded in the throat of the masked stranger as she pulled her body off of the door frame and stepped slowly inside, her arms still nonchalantly folded against her chest. "They say you're pretty fearsome yourself, Hun. What's that short for? Honeybear?"

His vicious sneer returned in an instant, clearly not at all welcoming of the insult toward his name - or the fact that she knew who he was. Having his name out on the street was not good for business, especially when people who pictured themselves as being vigilantes were able to obtain it so easily. _There had to be a leak among his men_, he thought quickly to himself. There was no other way for this girl to know of him otherwise. But one thing was certain, he had no plans of letting her live so that she could take his name to the cops. Oh no, he'd be damned before he let someone as worthless as the Hunter smirk victoriously at his capture.

"You're too late anyway, Little Hunter," he sneered. "We already have what we came for. So, if you would kindly step aside, I'd hate to see you break a nail."

A smirk slowly curled the one corner of her mouth as she swiftly draw her weapons and twirled them on her fingers, bending her knees slightly in preparation. "Anytime you feel man enough to take me on, go for it. The police should be here soon anyway, and I'm sure they'd love to say hello."

He was clearly becoming annoyed with her snappy remarks, she could see the violent fires rising in his eyes as he grit his teeth and flexed his fingers at his sides. Perfect, she thought, just where she wanted him. All it would take was one more little thing to send him over the edge, giving just enough time for her to knock him unconscious and take care of his two little minions before the police could arrive on scene and see their job already taken care of yet again. But she had evidently miscalculated what it would take to set him off. His roar shook the entire building, the pounding of his footsteps nearly causing her to lose her balance as one of her sais slipped from her grasp and landed on the floor with a clatter. He raised a balled fist, prepared to strike...

And then he froze.

If his eyes had been any wider they would have fallen cleanly from their sockets, she thought with an amused smirk on her lips. Her free hand was now extended toward him, positioned almost as if she was simply telling him to stop and not holding his stationary form a few inches above the ground. Most people weren't accustomed to being held in such a manner by someone so slight, especially when there was no physical connection to remove the husky male's footing from the floor. Even from their place behind their leader, though they themselves were not yet the victims of the assault, both of the men who had been robbing the cases stopped their own movements and gasped in horror at what they saw.

"Wha...what's happening? What have you done to me?" he barked.

The Hunter chuckled and took a few steps forward, raising the point of her sai she still had to this chest. "What's the matter? You're not scared of me, are you? After all, I'm only a little girl in a Halloween costume."

"Don't just stand there, Jackson! Get her!"

There was no hesitation from the mousy little man called Jackson as he moved to do exactly what his boss demanded of him, but the movement of his body was enough to alert her own to the lingering dangers and make her eyes shoot over toward him. A shift in her body weight brought her closer to Hun, the trip of her sai in an even more threatening position than before.

"One more step and you'll be the one to sign his death certificate," she warned.

That stopped the hired thug in his tracks instantly. His eyes flickered between her and his boss, who was still being held captive in some kind of telepathic grip. One wrong move could put an end to his boss, and while there were a great many people more than willing to fight over his place of power Jackson was not ready to have that kind of blood on his hands. Even to the wary eyes of the Hunter, he didn't seem to be the same kind of bloodthirsty, power hungry man she normally associated with these types. No, he was just one of the mindless minions who did whatever he was told at the time.

"Now, drop the stolen property and get down on your knees with your hands behind your head," she instructed. "I want you all to smile pretty when the cops show up and go quietly with them."

"Or you could put the weapons away and let the police deal with them."

There was a noticeable change in the demeanor of the Hunter as this new voice rang out in the night. Her lip curled back into a snarl, flashing a set of pearly whites in a rather menacing way and her eyes narrowed even further beneath her mask. The fingers around her sai tensed as she slowly angled her body around to look at the figure who now stood in the broken doorway. _Damn_, she cursed silently. She had hoped to have more time before he showed up and distracted her from her task, knowing full well that things would no longer go as she had planned with his lingering presence.

At least his appearance was the same though, otherwise she would have to wonder if perhaps she was being followed by multiple people every night. He wore the same trench coat that fell down well past his knees, hiding away any vision of the face that lay beneath it. She had no idea of what he looked like, or how he even managed to find her every night...but it was really pissing her off.

"This is a private party and you're not invited."

"And New York City doesn't need another crazy vigilante to put innocent people in harm's way," he replied sharply in a clearly disapproving tone. "This is the last time I will warn you before I'm forced to take you down myself."

The Hunter laughed. "Take your place in line, pal."

Crossing his arms over his chest, the stranger appeared to be staring her down. "Very well. I gave you a chance to leave quietly."

_BANG!_

A sudden pain arose in her right side as she quickly brought her hands down toward the pain and dropped to one knee, feeling something sticky begin to flow between her fingers. There was another sound as well, one much heavier than the one she had made and louder than the clatter of her second weapon falling to the ground. Another silent curse ran through her mind. Had she just ignored the idiot in the doorway she wouldn't have turned around to face him, giving the third man a chance to pull a gun and shoot her. But he was a lousy shot, she quickly realized. The bullet had only grazed her, meaning that her injury was far less severe than it could have been. And it hurt less than the attack that followed.

Now free of her paralytic hold on him, Hun saw an opportunity to get even while she was still slightly dazed and wasted no time in taking advantage of the situation. His previously frozen fist made solid contact with her cheek and flattened the vigilante against the floor. Then one swift kick to the stomach had her crying out as she flew halfway across the store and rolled right into a pile of broken glass that promptly cut up whatever skin it could find. A groan escaped her lips as she began to push herself upward, only to be stopped by the pressure of his large foot weighing down on her bloody side.

"Don't worry, Little Hunter," he hissed above her, adding more pressure to his foot as she struggled not to scream through grit teeth. "I'm not going to kill you yet. But when I get through with you, you're going to wish you were dead."

His words were barely audible above the blood that pounded in her ears and the ominous voice in her head that demanded she focus on something else to remain conscious. But she could hear something else as well, or at least she thought she could. And it was steadily growing louder with each passing second that she lay there, straining to breath beneath the growing weight against her ribs...

Sirens!

Apparently the others were thinking the same thing. "It's the cops! Come on boss, we got what we came for, let's go!" There was a pause. "Boss!"

The pressure was suddenly released from her side. Coughing and gasping for air she rolled onto her back, holding both hands as firmly to the wound as she could handle before Hun spoke one last time.

"This isn't over."

He kicked her once more for good measure, sending her right into a metal pole from what had once been a support for the doorway. Groaning from the abnormal amount of abuse she had taken that night, the Hunter slowly turned onto her stomach and looked up to find herself completely alone in the store. Hun and his minions had managed to get away, and taken whatever they had been after with them. Another curse fell from her lips as she pushed herself to her knees, fuelled into moving by the approaching sound of the police sirens that were now even closer than they had been before. She still had time to make it out of there undetected, but barely. As long as she wasn't confronted by the stranger again...

Oh, hell! Maybe she hadn't been the target after all!

Even after the threats he had made and the hostile way in which her body had responded to his presence, the Hunter still moved toward the motionless body of the stranger now lying in the doorway. The growing stain of blood on his trench coat betrayed the wound to be dangerously high on his chest, near his collarbone on the left side of his body. A small, albeit laboured, rise and fall in his abdomen convinced her that he was still alive, but for how much longer? She certainly couldn't just drop him off at the local hospital. She would be arrested and blamed for his condition faster than you could say "Big Apple." And the sirens of the approaching police cars were almost deafening now - they would be there any minute.

Dammit, she thought. Of all times to have a conscience.

Pressing down firmly on the wound with one hand, her other reached down to pull him into a sitting position and hurriedly throw his arm around her neck for support. Her teeth grit against the pain and added strain of his dead weight as she hauled them both upward and made her way to the back exit as quickly as she could. There was only one safe place for them both to go now.

"You better be worth all this trouble," she grumbled to his unconscious body as she staggered out onto the street and headed for the nearest bunch of shadows. "Or you and I are going to have some major issues when you wake up."


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's another chapter, guys. This one took a little while to edit because there is no immediate dialogue to worry about, but hopefully you guys will be interested in continuing on with this story anyway. Please feel free to leave me a review once you've read through it, because I'd love to hear what you think!**

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**Chapter Two**

Making her way back to her own place of residence had proven to be far more difficult than she had originally anticipated it would be, the added weight of another body slowing her down considerably as she struggled to move quickly and ducked from sight when police cars went racing down the street toward the jewellery store they had just left. It normally wasn't an issue at all to simply remove herself from the scene and return home, moving her way swiftly along the rooftops with an ease that most people would never find living in New York. Tonight however, proved to be a challenge unto itself as she was forced to use the streets, knowing her body would be unable to make the leaps and bounds between the rooftops while she carried this stranger on her back. His interruption that night had certainly caused quite the problem for her, and she was going to be sure to tell him so when she had patched him up and gotten him as far from her home as possible. If she had been able to go anywhere else with him she would have...but there was no place else. Taking him to a hospital would mean that she would be forced to reveal herself as she was in a public manner, and she wasn't prepared to do that just yet.

And besides, she really didn't want to deal with the hospital security.

The young woman grit her teeth as she hauled both herself and the stranger into the alleyway beside her building, ducking as far back into the shadows as she could in order to prevent anyone from seeing them before she closed her eyes, focusing her mind on the task ahead. Her feet slowly began to rise until she no longer touched the ground, sweat dripping down the sides of her face from the effort she exerted in her concentration. In less than a minute she managed to levitate them both high enough to step onto the fire escape, releasing her body from the temporary hold she had placed upon it and swiping a hand across the air in front of her, prompting the window to open without her touch.

She stumbled through with the stranger still on her back, nearly losing her footing as she stepped into the living room of her apartment and hurried to lay his unconscious form on the couch, never-minding the blood that she could see seeping through his coat and onto the fabric of the couch itself. There would be time to clean that up later, after she had removed the bullet from his body and patched up the wound that had been made. In a flash the domino mask was removed from her eyes and thrown onto the table beside the couch, her footsteps carrying her into the kitchen to gather the necessary supplies that she had stored for herself under the sink. Unfortunately, this was not the first time that she had been forced into dealing with such wounds, as she often walked away from an encounter with some of her own, though she had never had to deal with a gunshot wound before. It was his own fault for causing a distraction, she thought as she filled the first of two bowls with cool water and held the other tightly in her arm. A cloth was quickly dumped into the cool water as she turned the sink off and moved back to kneel beside the stranger who now lay on her couch, blue eyes scanning the coat that he wore over his body as the blood continued to spread along the material. She didn't have the time to do this the normal way, she realized. There was too much blood on him, not to mention whatever there was on her own body from carrying him as far as she had.

She'd have to do this her way.

Gloves were peeled away from her hands and quickly discarded on the floor beside her as she shifted a little closer to his body, fingers reaching out to pull at the buttons that kept his coat tightly closed around his abdomen. As the first was unbuttoned, she noted something strange laying beneath the surface, a greenish colour that was not typical of human beings. Thinking it to be nothing she continued her way down the coat until at last the material slipped right down his side, and the young woman gasped in shock at what she saw. In an instant she removed his gloves and hat as well, her eyes wide and her breathing hitched for a moment. She'd heard of the crocodiles in the sewers rumour, since it was an urban legend that made New York famous alongside the millions of other things it actually had. But this was beyond anything she had ever seen before, beyond the thugs that combed the streets at night and the scum who hunted in the darkness for easy prey that they could attack.

He was a damn turtle!

And not just any turtle either, she noted. He was about as big as your average human, slightly taller than she was if she was looking at him right, his back adorned with a shell which made it a little more awkward based on how she had laid him on the couch. The skin on his body was of a jade green colour, his hands and feet sporting only three fingers and toes each while his face was covered by a length of blue cloth that had been tied around his eyes like a mask. A walking, talking turtle had somehow managed to grow in New York City, and had thus far gone completely undetected by the civilian population. What the hell was all over the city that would allow such mutations to happen...and how in the world did they manage to survive without being seen by people?

The young woman quickly gave her head a shake as she reminded herself that there was someone who needed her attention, and that if she didn't act quickly then she might lose him for good and never find out why he had been out there following her that night. It didn't matter yet what he was, or how he had come to be. All that mattered was that he was an innocent life that needed to be saved, and she was his only chance at life at that moment. Tugging back the sleeves of her costume, the young woman flexed her hands and held them over the wound that was now crusted with his dried blood. Her eyes closed and she inhaled deeply, steadying herself for the energy that she knew would shortly be leaving her own body to do what needed to be done.

Gentle exhalation at the mouth was when it all began, a soft white glowing in her hands that spread down to his green skin and further lit the area that surrounded his wound. A small speck of black shot up and out of the hole that had been created in his body and into one of her hands, which immediately snapped closed around the object. A slight convulsion of the muscles appeared in his abdomen, but neither he nor her second hand moved as she continued her work. Very slowly, as the light continued to glow brightly from the palm of her hand, the wound began to close itself up and heal until at last there was nothing left to know that the wound had even existed. Even the dried blood was gone.

The light faded away and the young woman fell back on her heels, eyes opening slowly to look ahead in a bit of a haze. It had been a while since it had required that much energy to heal a wound, and it left her with a rather light-headed feeling that made everything before her dance a little. She placed her open hand gingerly against her face as everything slowly began to shift back into focus, looking down at the fist she still held and carefully opened her fingers. Inside was the remains of the bullet that had been lodged in his body, a small stump of twisted metal that no longer resembled the shape it had been in prior to being fired from the gun. It was still covered in the blood of the creature that she had saved, her eyes lifting again to ensure that his chest was rising and falling in a steady rhythm before she soaked the cloth in the bowl of water that she had brought and wrung it out, placing it against his brow to try and cool his body.

Now there was just herself to deal with, as she pushed herself back to her feet and moved unsteadily into the kitchen. Her patient was now free from danger and sleeping comfortably, but she knew there would only be a few hours before things started to get really awkward really fast, which prompted the Hunter to start moving as quickly as her body would allow. Oh yes, she had drained a lot more energy than she had thought originally. She blinked several times, a hand gripping the countertop tightly until the room eventually stopped spinning around her and she could move a little easier. Perhaps now she could focus on her own wound, which had not bled nearly as much as his had since it was only a graze, but still stung like crazy.

She'd have to patch up her suit as well, she remembered.

She discarded the bullet in a small dish by the sink, knowing that she would want to take another look at it later when she wasn't worried about an unwelcome house guest, and washed her hands to remove the small traces of blood that she had picked up in handling the object. Healing her side would not be as quick and painless as originally anticipated, considering the amount of energy that she had spent in saving her stalker, which meant that a more conventional style of healing would need to take place. And to do that, she would need to get out of her costume entirely. Oh, what a fine mess she was in, she thought bitterly to herself as she dried her hands on the towel that hung from the handle of the oven door and wandered down the little hallway. Into the second door on her left she went, half closing the door without a worry about the occupant of her couch. He would be out for a little while now, and that meant that she wasn't in any danger of having him wake up to see her face without the mask.

Slowly peeling the material away from her body she began the painful process of shedding her suit, teeth grit against the discomfort she felt as it clung to her skin. Ordinarily it was not this difficult to shed her nightly persona and take on the face she wore in the streets by day, nor did she typically suffer from a wound that would make the material stick to her, as it was doing now. Between the blood and the sweat that had fallen it was almost like there was an adhesive layer that refused to allow her flesh to part with her suit at all, which only annoyed the young woman further as she attempted to shed the outer shell. But it needed to be done, and the wound itself had to be cleaned before infection set in and further impaired her ability to go out afterward and track down the people responsible for these injuries.

"Son of a-"

At last the material gave way and was pulled free of her skin, leaving only a burning sensation in its place as she tossed the costume to the side to worry about later. The young woman groaned against the ache that she felt and quickly moved to her closet, grabbing the first pair of dark blue jeans that she saw to pull over her bruised legs. Oh yes, Hun had gotten a couple of good hits in before he had disappeared, she could see them on her body as she turned to glance at her reflection in the mirror. Already there were swirls of purple, red and brown all over the skin of her legs and torso, the worst of which appeared around the gash in her side. She needed to tend to it, she couldn't put it off for too long. Who knew where that gun had been before she had been shot? And since she hadn't yet examined the bullet that had been lodged in the creature now occupying her couch, she couldn't be totally sure whether or not the bullets were bought or made. That alone could help her narrow down her search. If Hun thought that he was going to get away with what he had done, he had another thing coming.

The thin black sweater that she had thrown on the bed earlier was quickly picked up again and held tightly in her hand as she removed the elastics from her hair and allowed her dark locks to sweep around her face, footsteps carrying her back out into the kitchen once more. She wore only the black material of her bra on her upper body, sparing herself the aggravation of constantly trying to sweep a shirt to the side. Bare feet crossed the cool kitchen floor, the sweater tossed hap hazardously on the island as her hands began to busy themselves with the second bowl that she had brought out earlier, filling it with warm water and a little of the hand soap she kept near the edge of the kitchen sink. This was going to sting, even more so than it already did, but it needed to be done. Before she could change her mind she soaked a cloth in the water and brought it swiftly to her skin, hissing and hunching forward as contact was made and her body tensed against the pain that she felt lurking in her side. A slight turn of her head allowed her blue eyes to look down on the wound, seeing the small traces of blood appear in the cloth from this new attack on her flesh. She dabbed at it gently with her fingers and brushed it with a clean edge of the cloth, removing the crusted blood that still stuck to her and the now dried bits of skin that easily fell away from her body entirely.

With the wound finally cleaned she applied a little cream to the affected area before she covered it with a piece of gauze, held in place by thick pieces of tape on all sides to make sure that she didn't accidentally remove it before it was time. Nimble fingers reached out to collect her sweater again, wincing a little as she put both of her arms through and pulled it over her head, adjusting the bottom edge until it lay neatly around the rest of her stomach and hips. And now that she was finished sorting herself out, she now had to deal with the biggest question of the night. What the hell was she supposed to do with that giant turtle laying on her couch? It wasn't like she could just leave him somewhere else. She didn't know who would find him and what they might do to him when they figured out that it wasn't simply some punk kid in a costume. Her moral code wouldn't let her abandon him like that anyway…

A groan from the living room suddenly caught her attention and caused her head to snap around in his direction, listening to him stir. He should have been out for several hours after that, regardless of how quickly she had been able to heal the bullet hole in his chest. The springs in the couch groaned a little as he moved about, stretching the stiffness out of his body after the time he had spent immobile. And it was at that very moment that she saw his head peak over the top of the couch, looking about him as he tried to gather where he was and how he possibly could have gotten there from the jewellery store. In that same instant, the girl realized that her mask was still lying on the table next to the couch and out of reach. A hand quickly shot out as she tried to summon the mask over toward herself, the other arm wrapped tightly around her body to keep the bandage in place against her jerky movements. But her efforts at healing his otherwise fatal wound had reduced her to low energy levels, so low that she no longer had the strength to protect herself if he should attack her.

"Where am I?" he groaned, lifting a hand to his head as he rubbed it gently to alleviate the headache he was sure to be feeling. "What happened?"

He had not yet noticed that there was someone else in the area, a benefit in the eyes of the young woman who looked about her for some means of escape. To allow him to see her would not only reveal her identity to him, but it would likely mean that he could come after her with much more ease in the nights to follow, and that was not what she wanted after her failure to stop Hun that night. She looked almost frantically about her, praying that there might be something, anything, that could spare her from this situation.

A gasp sounded as the turtle looked down at his body and leapt to his feet, hands moving over the area that had previously been marked by a bullet hole. And in doing so, he lifted his eyes to finally see the girl in the kitchen.

"Who are you?" he demanded, looking about him with unease. "What have you done to me?"

The girl scoffed a little. "Wow, aren't we just brimming with gratitude…" she muttered to herself, giving up on the idea of hiding her face from his eyes. "I happen to be the one who saved your life, and I _could_ have left you to die at the jewellery store where the police would have found you."

The creature blinked at her, taking a small step backward as the information seemed to sink in. For a moment he stood there in silence, staring at her with disbelief written across his face and shock in his eyes. "You're the Hunter?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I am."

"I don't understand," he murmured, giving his head a bit of a shake. "You can't be any older than sixteen. What are you doing on the streets that late at night?"

"Seventeen," she corrected with a little toss of her head, removing a few stray locks of hair from her eyes as she continued to stare at the creature who made no effort to hide himself from her. "I don't sleep well at night, and I have a problem with people like Hun who abuse innocent people." The young woman crossed her arms over her chest, shifting her weight a little between her feet. "I don't particularly enjoy being called a freak, either."

"You don't look like a freak to me," he told her softly. "You look pretty normal from where I stand."

The girl rolled her eyes, her tone rather bitter. "You weren't standing a few minutes ago."

A silence fell between them as the young woman lowered her eyes, suddenly feeling rather self-conscious about having another living being in her apartment with her. She was so accustomed to living on her own that sharing the space even for a short while was strange, as was the feeling that she got when finally she lifted her gaze and found that the expression he wore on his face had softened considerably toward her. The expression he now wore was one that confused her greatly, for it was neither sympathy nor sadness that she read in the dark brown orbs of his eyes. Nevertheless it made her uneasy to know that she couldn't read it, especially since he was more than capable of moving about the apartment without any further issue.

"At least you look normal," he sighed, glancing down at one of his green hands and flexing his fingers. "As you've seen, I can't really go anywhere without a total disguise. People would think I was a monster."

Shifting her weight, the girl pressed her back against the countertop, flinching slightly at the jab that she felt surge through her side. "I might look like everyone else, but you've seen what I can do." A small smirk crossed her lips as she gave a hollow laugh. "And that's not even _all_ that I can do."

The two sat in silence for a moment as they contemplated their own dilemmas, struggling to make sense of the world that they had each been born into. It was clear that neither of them were overly fond of the hand that they had been dealt, but that they struggled to make the best of what they had in their own way. Finally, the girl let out a soft sigh and moved a piece of her dark hair from her eyes, looking up at the turtle with a resigned expression on her face.

"Do you have a name?"

The turtle nodded lightly, lifting his dark eyes from the spot that his fingers brushed lightly against his side as if trying to remember the wound he had previously had. "My name is Leonardo," he said to her. "Leo."

She offered him a small smile. "I'm Destiny," came the words she had not thought she would say. "Or Des if you prefer. I'd say it was a pleasure to meet you, but I don't think the circumstances were really the greatest."

At this, she could see a small smirk begin to form in the corner of his lips, his arms moving to fold over his chest in a mirror image of her own stance and the weight of his body shifting to sit a little more evenly between his legs. There was something rather powerful in the way that he stood, watching her carefully as if he were making his own observations about her the very same way that she was about him. And in truth, she was certain that he was doing just that. It wasn't every day that she came across someone as unique as he was, and she was pretty sure that he was not accustomed to being shot and healed so quickly all in the span of an hour or so. That would likely have been the most dangerous wound he had ever received in his life, and it was all because he had gotten himself involved and become a distraction when they both needed to be on their guard. Well, it wouldn't happen again, Destiny told herself firmly as she shifted a little against the countertop. This would likely prove to be the last that she ever saw of him.

"I can't say that I've ever had a night like this before," he admitted to her, allowing his eyes to drift and take in his surroundings. "You have some rather amazing gifts."

A frown overtook her features, darkening her expression. "Not gifts," she corrected. "Curses."

He seemed to regard her with a look of confusion now as he slowly moved around the side of the couch, footsteps slow as if he were waiting for her to become uncomfortable with his approach. There was a curiosity that lingered behind his eyes as he moved, careful not to make any sudden movements that might otherwise spook her until at last he stopped on the other side of the island, only a few feet away from her. There was no fear in his face, she noted quickly to herself. No sign of disgust, no hesitation that might otherwise prompt him to take up a defensive position against her. Leo simply seemed to look upon her as if he didn't understand where her hatred for her own abilities came from, tilting his head slightly to the one side like this new angle might reveal something more about her than she had allowed him to know. Were she not feeling as if she were standing under a dark cloud at that moment, Destiny might have allowed herself to laugh lightly at his stance. Clearly though, he wasn't afraid of her.

"Why would you say that?" he asked her slowly, one hand coming to rest on his hip while the other touched the top of the island lightly. "If it weren't for your abilities, I'm pretty sure I would have died. But you somehow managed to…well, I'm not entirely sure what you did. But whatever it was, it looks as if I was never hurt at all."

The brunette shook her head a little and turned her eyes away from him, arms folded almost defensively against her chest at his comments. "I'm Frankenstein's monster," she told him ruefully, her jaw tightening at the words. "He just got a little better at making me look normal on the outside, that's all."

"Still-"

"Still nothing, Leo," she interrupted, lifting a hand to emphasize her point a little. "The truth of the matter is that I was not born this way, nor do I even know the extent of what I am capable of, and that's scary. I never really know what will set my abilities off when I go out in public, or what might happen as the days progress and I go out to patrol the city streets. All I know is that as long as there are people like Hun and the Purple Dragons running amuck, I can't just sit in my apartment and ignore them."

Her arms shifted lower until they were wound tightly around her stomach and she pulled the material of her sweater as close to her skin as possible, hissing softly as she made contact with the wound that was only beginning to heal. Instantly her body hunched forward a little, shocked by the contact against the open sore. But almost as quickly as she had leaned over it, she straightened herself up again and took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she did. The eyes were often able to tell the truths that someone wished to hide, and she had no desire to let her thoughts be read by a total stranger, most especially one as potentially dangerous as the creature in her kitchen could be.

A silence fell between them yet again and hung heavily in the air, keeping each in their own thoughts as they assessed the situation at hand how best to handle it. Now that they knew the other existed in more than simply a vigilante form and shadowy stranger, there were bound to be a million questions just raging through their minds. But the biggest one of all had yet to be asked…for neither one yet knew the answer to it.

Now that they knew, what were they going to do about it?

"He hit you, didn't he?" Leo asked her softly, his dark eyes slowly lowering to the hand that gingerly held onto her bandaged side. "The man who shot me. He hit you too."

Destiny nodded slowly. "It's just a graze. Nothing as serious as the injury you sustained."

"Can you heal it?"

At this, the young woman shook her head so that her curls fanned lightly around her face. "No, unfortunately not. Healing you required quite a bit of my energy, more than I had originally anticipated. It'll be a little annoying, but this wound will have to heal itself naturally."

"I'm sorry."

"There's nothing for you to be sorry about," she assured him, letting her hand fall away. "The choice to save you was mine, and this is a consequence of that choice. There are consequences to everything we do, whether we like it or not, so why stress over it? Unless of course, you plan on killing me now to make sure that I don't tell everyone about you."

A smirk crossed the turtle's features to match the one he saw reflected in his direction. Folding his arms over his chest, he allowed the weight to fall evenly between his legs as he asked, "And who would believe you anyway if you said you had a life sized, walking, talking turtle in your kitchen?"

Laughter sounded gently from the far side of the kitchen. "People believe that there are alligators in the sewer, don't they?"

"Well, I suppose. But a turtle would be a new one for New York."

The two of them couldn't help but share a laugh at the thought of people running about on the streets as they spread the rumour of turtles to whomever would listen. There were already those who continued to swear that the world was coming to an end, or that the alligators were in fact a living danger beneath their feet, and people passed them by without a second glance. Even if she were to hurry down to the street and tell the very first person she ran into, Destiny knew that she would be brushed aside just like all of the others who firmly believed in something that seemed a farfetched fantasy to the rest of the population. And if word ever got out that she had done such a thing, she was pretty sure that her job would then be at risk.

"Look, I don't mean to be rude-"

"Yeah," Leo nodded, giving her a small smile. "I really should be going."

Before she could say much else, he had crossed the distance of the living room until he was standing by the very same open window that she had first brought him through. He didn't bother to put his disguise back on, but simply carried the bloody coat over his arm while one hand held tightly to the gloves and hat that she had thrown onto the floor earlier. One leg slipped through the window and he ducked his head to follow with his body, but Destiny impulsively called out and halted his movements.

"Wait!"

Pausing, Leo turned his head back to her, looking toward her with curious eyes.

"Will I see you again?"

The turtle smiled. "After what you've done for me tonight, I have a debt to repay. We will see one another again, I'm sure."

And with that, Leonardo slipped out of the window and disappeared into the night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Here is another installment, with the next chapter being worked on as we speak. I know these are coming fairly quickly right now, but this likely won't last for too long. School and life will undoubtably get in the way and things will slow down...but for the time being I have chapters to post and I'll do my best to get them up as quickly as possible. Leave me a review when you're done reading!  
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**Chapter Three**

"Where have _you_ been?"

He could already hear the accusation that was laced in those four simple words, and he instantly tightened his hold around the folded coat that he carried in his arms. Yes, he had technically left without letting anyone know that he planned on going topside, but he was old enough now that he hadn't thought it was such a big deal. Of course, the intention was only to watch out for the vigilante who had taken it upon herself to guard the streets of New York and leave the thugs in piles throughout the city for the police to arrest. He hadn't planned on becoming involved that night, which was why he had appeared at the crime scene without the usual weaponry that adorned the back of his shell. And he definitely hadn't expected to encounter the Hunter in the manner that he had.

Frowning darkly at the shadow from which the voice had come, Leo straightened his shoulders a little. "None of your business."

Stepping forward into the light, the dark green body leaned heavily upon the edge of the wall with his arms folded across his chest. "Maybe not," he said gruffly as the smirk grew a little wider on his face. "But I'm not actually the one who cares to know."

For a moment, Leo didn't quite understand what it was that was being said to him. All he could focus on was the way in which his brother leaned against the wall, so relaxed in his posture and unafraid of what might happen in a split second. It was the exact same way that Destiny had faced down Hun and the two other Purple Dragons that night when she had thought to stop their robbery, before things got out of hand and they both got hurt. He blinked, his mind not registering nothing else until the body stood upright and hands fell to the sides, a look of question crossing the face of his brother.

Leo gave his head a small shake. "It's fine. _I'm_ fine."

"No, it ain't bro. Sensei wants to see you."

Holding back a groan of frustration, Leo rubbed his tired eyes. All he wanted to do at that moment was return to the safety of his own room and take a little time to himself in which he could think about what had happened that night. He didn't want the answer the questions of his brothers, and he certainly had no desire to approach his sensei and discuss the issue with him either. It wasn't that he didn't trust Master Splinter – in fact he was the closest thing that Leonardo had ever known to a father. But if he couldn't yet make sense of this new path that life had presented to him, how on earth was he supposed to discuss it with someone else and explain the situation?

Yet he knew that there was no way to avoid the summons that had been delivered to him, regardless of who it was that had presented the command to him. Standing tall and squaring his shoulders a little, Leo lead himself deeper into the lair that was his home until he came to the room with the thin paper door, a traditional Japanese _shoji_ screen that depicted a peaceful little village and cherry blossoms to provide privacy for the person on the inside. For a moment he paused, wondering if perhaps there was a way in which he could just turn himself around and retreat to the safety of his own room without being discovered.

"Enter."

His shoulders fell at the sound of the voice on the other side, the tone betraying absolutely nothing of how the heart might be feeling about his absence. Despite the trust that he had been given over the years, Master Splinter continued to worry when things were not right between his sons, or if one of them disappeared for an extended period of time. So through the door Leo went, stepping carefully over the threshold and then sliding the screen closed behind him before he dared to take those slow steps into the room and kneel upon the floor before his master.

"You sent for me, Sensei?"

"Yes," nodded Master Splinter as he turned himself slowly and peered down at him with dark eyes. "You have been gone for several hours without a word to your brothers. They were afraid that you had decided to go after the Hunter again."

_Damn Donnie_, he thought to him. Of all his brothers, he knew of only one who would actually approach their sensei with such a concern, for while the others knew exactly where he had been going none of them were interested enough to accompany him on his nightly searches. But perhaps that was a good thing, considering what had happened. None of them needed to know that he had been exposed to the eyes of yet another human. In truth, he didn't even know that this girl counted as being completely human anyway, given the abilities that she had displayed to him that night. And she had stated that what he had seen wasn't even the extent of her capabilities…

"Did you encounter the Hunter?"

"Yes, Sensei."

"And were you see by anyone else?"

There was no immediate answer. Leonardo closed his eyes and bowed his head a little, hands balling into fists against his knees as he inhaled deeply to delay his answer. But it seemed that the silence was all that was required of him, for he heard his master sigh softly before he turned away and began to move himself slowly down the steps of the platform on which he stood.

"Leonardo-"

"There were Purple Dragons robbing a jewellery store," he interrupted, his eyes still closed against the penetrating stare of his master. "The Hunter…she was there to stop them. So I tried to stop her." A silence fell between them and allowed Leo to relax his shoulders a little. "We were both hurt and the Purple Dragons got away with whatever it was that they had come for. But Master, she…she saved my life."

Very slowly the turtle looked upward into the dark eyes of the sensei who studied him so closely at these words, scrutinizing every detail that he had come to know over the past many years. After a moment his nose twitched a little and a hand reached out to gently touch the very same spot on his shoulder where the bullet had been lodged only a few hours before. Though the wound had been closed up and the blood removed from his green skin, there was still the faintest outline of the mark that nearly brought an early end to his life, a paler circle that did not escape the notice of Master Splinter.

Neither spoke for what felt like an eternity as the study of the area continued. Leo almost felt as if he were holding his breath while he waited for some word of the punishment that surely awaited him for going topside without letting anyone know. But it never came. Instead Master Splinter slowly withdrew his hand and blinked down at his son, his tail swishing lightly against the ground around his feet.

The old rat gazed at him with a frown. "She knows what you are."

Leonardo nodded silently.

"She possesses great power."

Again, the turtle nodded. "She isn't like April," he began slowly, the gears of his mind beginning to whirl around as he struggled to try to piece her together into an explanation. "She has powers and abilities that I've never known any human to possess. But it's almost like she's afraid of them, Master. She fears what she can do with these abilities and how the world would view her…just like we do."

It was a conundrum he didn't know that he would ever understand. On the one hand he knew what it was like to fear the world and the people in it, knowing that they were sure to judge you harshly for being different from them. But at the same time her differences were things that she could hide from the public eye if she chose to do so. Nobody had to know that she could place a telepathic hold on someone or heal a broken body that was close to death. If you were gifted with such power then why would you hide it away like it's something to be ashamed of? Wouldn't the world rejoice to hear that there was someone who might be able to help them in their hour of need?

And yet he couldn't help but remember the wound that had been on her side, the one that she said she wouldn't be able to heal because she had spent her energy in saving him. Was there a limit to the amount of power her body could exert before it became a danger to her own health? Because if this was the case then he wouldn't want anyone to know about a power like that either. As soon as a single person discovered the truth she would have a million different people knocking down her front door, begging to be cured of even the simplest ailments that would resolve themselves in time. Cuts, bruises, the common cold…it would be a nightmare.

Master Splinter was the one to break the silence. "Then it would seem that you owe her a debt."

A soft sigh passed the turtle's lips. "I don't even know how to begin repaying this one, Master Splinter. It's not like it is with April…this girl, she's different."

The candles in the room continued to flicker brightly against the darkened cornered where the light could not reach, creating long shadows against the far wall as Leonardo continued to kneel before his master. His head hung slightly, unable to meet the eye of the sensei who was responsible for raising him and his brothers from their tender infancy and through the turbulent years of their growing up after being affected by the experimental drugs that had been pumped into their systems. Master Splinter had seen Leo through a great many things, but this was something entirely different than anything he had witnessed before.

It was almost as if there was a sense of guilt about him that he could barely contain.

"What is it that continues to trouble you, my son?"

Hands balled into tight fists against his knees, eyes closing tightly to try and block out the images that had begun to plague him since he had interrupted the fight at the jewellery store and awoken inside a strange apartment. The distain that she had initially shown him when she believed him to be a meddling human had melted away completely after she had saved him from death, even after discovering that he wasn't actually human. She hadn't left him to die nor even threatened to hold him captive until she could expose his existence to the world. She'd simply healed him and let him go.

"She wasn't scared of me," he mumbled softly. "Even when she saw what I was, she wasn't scared. I saw her face, her powers…even her home. And the only thing she did was smile and let me go. But why? I don't understand."

To hear the question only made the sensei smile a little more as he stepped forward and gently placed his clawed hand upon Leonardo's shoulder. "Sometimes the greatest gifts of life come from mysterious places," he said wisely. "And we must accept them as they are given to us."

Leo's head snapped up and his eyes widened a little as he looked at his master, a little surprised to hear those words as his gaze was met with a kind smile. In not so many words, Master Splinter was bestowing his blessing, assuring Leonardo that it was alright for him to have these feelings in regards to the human girl he had only just met. There was no chastising for having gone to the surface without his brothers, nor even for continuing in his quest to stop the Hunter from roaming the streets at night in her vigilante costume. All he saw was the acceptance that radiated from the depths of the dark eyes that his master possessed, the very same acceptance that he had seen when Destiny leaned against her kitchen counter and allowed him to approach her.

But this had to be a secret, he thought quickly to himself. At least for now. He didn't want anyone else to learn that he had contacted another human from the surface world, partly out of a selfish desire to have something of his own and partly out of a need he felt to protect her. For now she thought him to be the only one of his kind, a strange being that somehow survived the somewhat harsh life that one could expect while living in New York City. She didn't know anything about the life that he lead within the sewers, moving about beneath the feet of more than a million people each and every day. And she didn't need to know. Not just yet.

"I'm still not sure-"

"Leonardo," came his master's voice in a low rumble. "Your paths have crossed for a reason, but the journey to discovering that reason must be taken by you alone."

Leo nodded. "Yes, Father."

As the hand slowly pulled away from his shoulder, Leo knew that he was being dismissed. The turtle rose to his feet and faced his master, bowing slightly at the waist before he turned on his heel and headed back out into the main area of the lair. All he wanted now was to find his way into his room, close the door and just lay in the silence until sleep overtook his tired mind. The unending questions would surely continue to bother him when he awoke again in the morning, but Leonardo knew that it would take a great deal of thinking for him to answer any of them. And even then, he knew that there was only one more alternative that he would have to accept before he dared to push those questions any further.

He needed to see her again.


	4. Chapter 4

**While I continue to work away on more chapters, here is another for those who have an interesting in continuing to read this story. I hope you're keeping count, because things are really going to start getting interesting from this point on! The die has been cast and Destiny is about to find herself in a shell of a lot more trouble than she originally anticipated. Leave me a review when you're done, and please feel free to share this story with anyone else you think might enjoy it!  
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**Chapter 4**

Man, if she wasn't undercover, she'd have wanted to be anywhere but here.

There were too many people milling about, all of them dressed in some form of costume as they moved between the booths and displays with all of the geeky paraphernalia that one could ever dream of being showcased to them. Everywhere she turned there was a Batman or a Poison Ivy walking around, or perhaps an anime character that someone had fallen in love with while watching their show. These kinds of conventions happened frequently in New York City and were never empty…but they also served as a great place for bad things to happen as well. The police and security guards are duty would be far more concerned with making such that the people in costumes didn't get out of hand that they barely paid attention to those who looked a little more "normal."

She had reason to believe that the Purple Dragons were meeting up with someone here to obtain new orders, having been successful in their last mission. Granted, most of that reason had been because she'd located and stalked the man called "Jackson" after her encounter with Leo a few days ago, but the man had led her to the convention and so into the throng of people she had gone.

There had been no room for her to go as the Hunter though. As soon as they spotted her costume in the crowd Destiny knew that the Purple Dragons would be alerted to her presence and bail before she could get the information she was looking for. So the black and purple costume that she had been mending had been left at home, and instead a different costume was worn. It was simple, something that would have people guessing at who it was she had decided to imitate that day, but taking recent events into account, she had thought the costume to be rather appropriate for her current location.

It was a dark green body suit that first caught the eye, one that stretched down her torso and legs until it tucked neatly into the black boots that she had taken from her vigilante persona for the day. Around her hips hung her sais, held in place by a thick belt of blue fabric that wrapped around her twice before she had knotted it firmly against her right hip. The same material was also on her face, creating a mask from which her eyes sparkled bright as she looked about her for signs of mischief. There were no sleeves to this body suit, leaving her arms and hands completely exposed to any attack that might come for her in time. But she had taken the time that morning to paint her nails a shade of blue that almost matched the material around her eyes and hips, smiling softly when she caught sight of her reflection in one of the display cases.

_Maybe I should have put a shell on my back too_, she thought to herself in amusement. Boy, if Leonardo saw her now she was pretty sure that he would know her without having to guess too hard. He had become the inspiration behind her look, albeit with a few changes, but she would not be able to blend into the crowd a little better than she would have if she had opted to simply show up with her Hunter persona on instead. Thankfully, not too many people in New York had yet seen her when she roamed the streets at night, which meant that there were no copycat looks to be seen within the walls of the convention center. Even as she made her way up and down the aisles, taking in the various costumes around her, Destiny couldn't see anything that really stood out as being reminiscent of her own personal look.

And thank goodness for that.

Up and down the crowded rows she went, dodging the shoulders of people who weren't really paying attention to their surroundings as they talked in excited tones about the people they planned on meeting, or the characters that they had already seen since walking in the door. It didn't really come as a shock when she had to step out of the way from getting trampled, but Destiny was a little annoyed by about the fifth time with the lack of manners being displayed by people. There were no apologies, no glanced backward to ensure that she was alright or anything. They just went on their way as if there was nothing more important in the world than having their lunchbox signed by the guy who played some random character in the sixties.

But as she stepped out of the way yet again, Destiny felt something crunch beneath her foot that immediately threw her off balance and sent her flying sideways into another line of traffic. Natural instinct said to just catch herself telepathically and make it look like more of a stumble, she'd done it before on the streets when people were pushing their way along the sidewalks and into the actual road. Just as she was about to do that, however, she felt someone place their hands around her shoulders to catch her before she could actually fall too far, landing instead against someone's chest.

"Whoa, dudette! Better watch your step in here or you'll get trampled!"

"No kidding. Thanks for the hand, I hope I didn't-"

She instantly froze as she looked up into the face of the person who held her, seeing them smile down at her as they released her shoulders from their grip. But he didn't seem to notice at all. "No problem-o!"

Destiny gave her head a bit of a shake and blinked several times, but there was no mistaking what she saw standing before her regardless of the costume pieces that he wore. Hell, it had been completely naive to imagine that there was only one of him running around in New York, but to run into another one right now? Not even fourty-eight hours had passed since she had encountered Leonardo at the jewellery store heist, and now she was being forced to come face to face with another of his kind. Yet it seemed that this one didn't have the same regard for stealth as Leo did, she mused.

"So…the Turtle Titan, huh?" she asked weakly, glancing up and down at the costume that he wore.

Instantly, his face lit up. "Dude, you know the Turtle Titan?!"

Destiny nodded. "Yeah, oddly enough."

"That's totally awesome!" he exclaimed, looking down at her with a wide grin. "He's only, like, the coolest super hero out there, man!"

"He's definitely something else," she agreed, smiling despite herself at the level of enthusiasm that he showed.

Movements over his shoulder caught her eye, causing them to flicker instantly in the direction of the hulking figures who moved back and forth along the far wall. Almost immediately the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, alerting her to the fact that there was danger afoot for her to deal with. Apparently her sources had been correct. There was going to be something happen at the convention that day.

"Uh…well, it was nice meeting you. Thanks again for your help."

Without giving him time to respond, Destiny stepped swiftly around him and headed back into the maze of people who seemed to swarm around her, nudging them gently to the side as she drew nearer her target. There were a few harsh glares, a couple of people moaning and groaning about the fact that she was going against the flow of traffic and could have torn their sleeves, but she ignored them all. She was so intently focused on the group of men who stood at the far end of the hall that everyone else was immediately shut out of her consciousness and practically ignored on the journey there.

Through a door on the far wall they went, disappearing from sight as Destiny struggled to get through the crowd and over toward them before they managed to get away. If they got too far ahead of her then she was bound to lose them entirely, and thus miss the opportunity to find out what it was that the Purple Dragons were next planning. Better still, she wanted the chance to find out who it was that they were working for, and to let them get away with such vital information was not acceptable. There was no way of knowing how many lives were at risk until she discovered what they were up to…

As carefully as possible, Destiny pressed her back against the wall and glanced about her before she twisted the handle of the door and pushed it aside, allowing her body to slip through the crack and into the slightly darker room that lay on the other side. There seemed to be no flow of traffic like there was in the room outside, but she knew immediately that there was something else going on, because she could hear voices in the distance. And just as she was able to venture a little further, she felt herself pulled back into a shadowed corner with her arms twisted upward a little to prevent her from moving away. Hissing in pain, Destiny turned her head, trying to see the face of her attacker.

"You'd better have a damn good reason for this," she growled, feeling a body press up against her back.

"Relax," said the male voice. "I don't want to hurt you. But I'd be totally down with you telling me what you think you're doing."

_Damn it!_

In her haste to get away from him and follow her prey, Destiny had disregarded the fact that he would likely have followed her much in the same way that Leo had followed the Hunter for weeks before he had finally confronted her. She had been all-too-willing to just ignore him and carry on with the initial plan…and apparently that had been the wrong choice. The turtle had chosen to follow her, somehow moving within the convention center so swiftly and silently that she hadn't even noticed how he had come to be in the room before her, hidden away in a corner that was not easily visible to anyone else in the room. The time for figuring that out, though, would come later. First, she needed to figure out how to get away from him and into the other room before the Purple Dragons got their orders and managed to get away again.

"Let me go," she warned darkly, her voice a low growl.

Apparently he didn't need to be told twice, for almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth he released her from his grip and allowed her body free control once again, watching unconcerned as she whirled around to face him and took in the changes to his appearance. Gone were the pieces of costume that had distinguished him as being the "Turtle Titan," most notably the large cape that had hidden the exterior of his shell from the eyes of others at the convention. All that remained was the cloth of orange around his eyes and waist, where a pair of nunchucks sat carefully on either of his hips. With raised hands that demonstrated how he didn't wish to threaten her any further, the turtle smirked a little.

"I know who you are," he said matter-of-factly. "You might be wearing a different costume and not have your hair all done up, but I've seen you before. You're the Hunter."

Destiny blinked up at him. "And you're a giant turtle. What's your point?"

"Well, you know I-" But then he stopped, looking down at her with a mix of confusion and wariness written across the forest-green colour of his face. "Wait, you know? And you're not freaked out?"

At this, the girl couldn't help but smile a little. "Unfortunately, you're not the strangest thing I've ever seen before."

"Dude…"

A sound at the door alerted Destiny to the presence of others, and she wasted no time in pushing the turtle as far back into the shadows as she could before pressing her own body firmly against his. Her hands held tightly to the muscles in his upper arms, her eyes glancing back for any sign that they might have been spotted…but the men simply continued on their way without a second glance in their direction. After a moment she allowed herself to breathe again, releasing him from her grasp and taking a small step backward to put a little distance between the two of them.

"Look, I wish I had the time to stop and chat with you, but I'm afraid that I have work to do."

As she turned away, she felt a hand quickly press against her shoulder and prevent her from leaving. "If you're following the Purple Dragons, you might want a little bit of help. There's a whole room of them back there, and no way are they just going to let you waltz in there without an invitation."

Well, he was definitely right about that. She had spotted only a handful of them heading into the room back there, but if he had seen more than just those few, Destiny knew she was going to have to be careful about how she went through with this plan. Barging in unannounced was clearly not an option anymore. Dressed as she was, people would surely make the connection of who she was, though she was grateful for the fact that she didn't have to worry about them linking her choice in wardrobe to Leonardo. After all, how many people could know about the giant turtle who roamed about New York City? Or turtles, she supposed, thinking of how she would need to make that a plural term now.

Tilting her head slightly, the brunette looked upward at him. "Do you have a name?"

"Mikey…it's short for Michelangelo."

"Nice name," she smiled softly. "Very…_new age_."

She couldn't resist the little dig. Though she knew that the chances of them not being affiliated with one another were slim, she couldn't ignore the connection that screamed at her through the choice of Renaissance names. Two of the greatest artists of the age, huh? Well, she'd deal with that later.

Removing her gaze from him, Destiny gently pried herself away from his hand and moved to the edge of the little corridor that they had stuffed themselves down, slowly positioning her body until she was able to see around the corner and confirm what she already knew. There was indeed another door at the far end of the room that would certainly lead her to the group that she hoped to infiltrate. If she could avoid any sort of confrontation she would happily do so – the idea of taking on an entire room of hired thugs certainly didn't meet with her approval. But if that was what was going to happen, at least she would be ready for them.

Silent hands reached down to remove her sais from her belt, sliding her fingers over the metal edges and readjusting her grip to ensure that she wouldn't lose them if she were to suddenly be confronted with company. But just as she moved to step around the corner and into the room, the door began to open and she was forced to shuffle back into the shadows to join Michelangelo. He was at her side almost instantly, pressing the back of his shell against the wall as he lifted one hand to lightly touch the tension she now bore in her hands. Without words, she knew it was a silent warning. He wanted her to wait before doing anything.

"Can you believe that guy?" demanded a male voice, coming through the door and a little further into the room. "We got that stupid rock he wanted and he _still_ wasn't happy!"

"Yeah, it's not our fault the Hunter showed up!"

The second voice belonged to Jackson, one of the men who had been present that night during the robbery of the jewellery store. Destiny remembered him as the mousy looking fellow who had been hesitant to obey the orders given to him by his boss, as if he really hadn't wanted to be a part of the heist at all. The first one, however, was a voice that she didn't immediately recognize. It was gruff though, a low voice that seemed to rumble in the belly a little before it reached the surface and was heard by those around the speaker. Voices such as those usually came from people she needed to be concerned about, because in her experience they were almost always bigger than she was. And that meant that they hit harder too.

The first voice continued. "That guy in the trench boat certainly helped though," he said with a dark chuckle. "If he hadn't distracted her we might never have gotten away with it."

"Yeah, too bad you had to shoot him," agreed Jackson.

Her body stiffened in response to his words, and Michelangelo did his best to just keep her calm with the added pressure of his fingers closing around her wrist. The first voice belonged to the other man who had been present that night, the one who had pulled the gun and nearly killed Leo in his efforts to escape. Her teeth were grit tightly together, part of her lip curling back in a vicious snarl.

"Breathe," Mikey reminded her in a hushed tone.

Very slowly, the air began to move about in her lungs once more.

"As long as we don't run into those turtles again," the first man growled, clearly disgusted with the very mention of them. "The only reason they're worse than that damn vigilante is because there's more than one of them. I'd happily have shot all of them if I'd had the chance."

Both men shared a bout of laughter as Destiny continued to stand back in the shadows with Michelangelo, who flexed his fingers against her wrist as he grew bothered by their developing conversation. Evidently she wasn't the only one who was currently battling the urge to run out there and start interrogating the two men, wanting to pump them for further information about this new job that they had been given. Thus far, that was the only piece of information she really wanted but found herself to be lacking…

The sound of a hand clapping against a shoulder rang out in the silence that followed their moment of amusement. "Maybe we'll still get the chance, eh?"

"Yeah! Maybe!"

The first voice cleared his throat a little. "This next job should be a piece of cake. The shipment comes in at eleven and we'll be out of there before they even realize we've come."

"It'd be a lot easier if we didn't have to work with the Foot," Jackson complained, his feet shuffling a little against the floor. "They're just going to get in our way…or maybe they'll set us up to take the fall when the cops show up."

"Better the cops than the Hunter," reminded the first man. "They won't pick us up off the ground from twenty feet away."

With muttered agreement the two men moved further into the room and dangerously close to the doorway through which they had all originally come, forcing both Destiny and Michelangelo to shuffle back into the tiny space of shadow behind them. Again they resumed the position of having her body pressed tightly to his, though this time his one arm wrapped itself around her waist to help bring her as far back as the space would allow until the sound of the closing door reached them and they slowly released from their forced embrace. A few more seconds of silence passed as they waited to see if they would be joined by anyone else, but it seemed that whoever else had headed into the second room would not be leaving in the same manner as Jackson and his companion.

"Dude," Mikey muttered to himself. "This does _not_ look good at all."

But Destiny's mind was already whirling around the information she had just overheard, struggling to piece together the bits that made little sense to her. The Purple Dragons she had heard of, having watched them over the past several months as she tried to bring an end to their crime spree. The Foot, however, was an entirely new thing that she had never heard of before. What was it? A street gang? Some type of machine they planned on using for this heist? And even better, what was it that they were after this time? Though they had highlighted the fact that some shipment was their new target there had been no discussion of a date, a place or even what it was that they planned on robbing.

It left a bitter taste in her mouth. Though she had learned few things by infiltrating the convention today, she still had more questions that needed to be answered before she could proceed any further. More digging was required. More nights of combing the streets endlessly until she was able to get her hands on someone who might talk if the right force was applied.

And boy was she willing to apply that force.

"Wait! Where you going?"

It was Michelangelo's voice that called her back when Destiny realized that she had drawn away from him without even realizing it. Instinct told her to get to the door and get out of the building as quickly as possible before she ran the risk of being discovered, but part of her knew that she couldn't just up and leave without a word to him. _There are two of them_, she reminded herself. _Leo isn't the only one of his kind._ Even the Purple Dragons had referenced the fact that there was more than one turtle…

"I have work to do," she said shortly.

"Yeah, but-"

"No," she said quickly, whirling around to look at him with a frown etched into her face. "There is no 'but' here, Mikey. There is too much at stake here for anyone else to get involved."

Now it was his turn to frown. "Too much at stake?" he asked her. "Do you know what they're planning?"

"No. But that doesn't mean I don't have any sort of idea."

"You can't-"

"I can, and I will," she responded firmly. "I don't need any kind of help with this. It's too dangerous for anyone else to be involved, and I won't have you getting in my way."

Turning on her heel, Destiny quickly deposited her sais back into her belt as she marched toward the door, eager to remove herself from the situation entirely and just get back to her apartment so she could begin planning her next move. She didn't have time to deal with other people, or perhaps in this case creatures, who wanted to butt into her affairs and make a complicated mess of things. Her life was already complicated – she didn't need any further help in that department.

It took no time at all for her to escape from the convention center, slipping her arms into a light jacket that had been left lying in a plastic chair so as to hide her weaponry and appearance from passersby on the street, a hand reaching up to remove the blue fabric of her mask. She tucked it away quickly within one of the pockets of her new jacket, rather thankful to note that the sun had begun to set and remove the brightness of the day from the sky. It meant she wouldn't need to worry about possibly having a headache from the sun when she returned home, as she was prone to have during moments of high anxiety. Just another wonderful thing about being a freak.

When she rounded the second corner, however, she stopped and lifted her head, glancing around her. There were no other people on the side street she had chosen to walk down, and yet she could feel a lingering presence that had been making the skin of her neck prickle ever since she had set foot on the pavement of the street. Destiny sighed softly to herself. She knew the feeling all too well from the many weeks that had preceded her meeting with Leonardo.

"_I know you're there,"_ she thought, her voice carrying the thoughts into the mind of her follower without the slightest move of her lips. _"And you might as well give up now. We're done for the night."_

There was no point in bothering to replace the mask. From where she stood, now motionless on the sidewalk, there was no way for him to really see her face. All he would know is that he had encountered the Hunter, a girl with no further identity than a street name given to her by locals who spoke of how the vigilante "hunted" down the criminals of the city relentlessly. Hell, half of them didn't even know she was a seventeen year old girl. They just assumed there was someone out there who had finally grown tired of being victimized and decided to do something about it. And they weren't far off in that thought.

"_Good night, Michelangelo."_

Exhaling slowly, she continued on her way until she was able to round yet another corner and disappear completely from sight. A soft breeze pushed the orange tail of his mask off to the side as he stared down at the spot where she had stood before her voice rang clearly in his head, giving the turtle pause. There was so much more to this mysterious girl than people realized, for clearly she possessed abilities that were far beyond his understanding. He still didn't know why she was paying attention to the Purple Dragons, but he did know one thing for certain. He'd met the Hunter.

How cool was that?


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's another chapter! I'm slowly bringing things into crazy mode, so be prepared for some more adventure and drama within the next few chapters. This one took me a little while to write because I really wanted to establish the relationship that is beginning between Des and Leo and really examine it from the different angles. Hopefully you guys will see just how different it really is and where it might bring them trouble in the future. Or perhaps you can see how it will work. I don't know, but I'm sure interested to find out what you think. Review when you finish and let me know what you think!**

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**Chapter 5**

She had been yet to adopt her nightly persona, he realized. For the past several minutes she had been standing on the rooftop of the building in her civilian clothing, her arms wrapped tightly around her chest as she held her sweater down against the breeze that brushed along past her and carried her dark locks forward around her eyes. The moon was full and bright, looming down over the city with an eerie clarity that he wasn't familiar with seeing during his nightly excursions in the surface world – and it seemed that Destiny was rather taken with the look of the sky before her. She hadn't moved her gaze since he had arrived some fifteen minutes before.

For almost three days now he had been battling with his desire to return to her apartment and see her again, the strange girl who have saved his life and yet seemed to set herself upon the same level as a mutated turtle who lived his days in the sewers below the city itself. He'd found himself locked in a stalemate, one part of his brain screaming that it was foolish to risk exposing himself to the world again after he had barely escaped with his life the last time. And yet another voice demanded that he return to her, for she had peaked his curiosity and left him unsatisfied with the result of their last meeting even though he had been the one to leave. Something about her was alluring, beckoning for him return again so that he might learn more about how she came to have such incredible powers at her disposal. What had happened? The question nagged away at him day and night, keeping him awake at every ungodly hour imaginable until finally he was forced to abandon his efforts and enter the training dojo.

And so again, he had left the safety of his home beneath the surface in order to approach this girl, one who was little better than a perfect stranger. He knew first-hand what she was capable of if she didn't want him to come anywhere near, and yet he found that he wasn't as concerned with his own well-being as perhaps he should have been. His desire to know more about her and thank her properly for what she had done in order to save his life had only grown alongside his curiosity, which was had brought him back to her rooftop that night.

"_I know you're there."_

Leo jumped, hearing her soft whisper in his ear even though he knew that she was plainly standing at least thirty feet in front of him. She hadn't even turned around, she was still gazing out at the starry sky that hung above the busy city like a statue destined never to move from her place. But she knew that he was there, somehow she had been aware of his presence…and for how long? Was it merely a sense that told her she was being watched, or had one of her abilities alerted her as soon as he set foot on the rooftop? Regardless, the turtle slowly moved from his hiding place and began to approach her with cautious steps until he found himself only a few feet behind her.

"How did you know I was here?" he asked.

With a glance over her shoulder and a small smile of amusement, Destiny laughed softly to see the questioning look in his eye. "I heard you arrive."

He blinked at her. She had heard him arrive? Leonardo took great pride in the fact that his ninjitsu training had allowed him to master the art of stealth, ensuring that the enemy wouldn't know of his arrival until he intended for them to see him. He trained constantly to keep his skills sharp and ready for any moment of the day or night, spending long hours in the dojo even when they were not required of him. In fact, that was the very skill he had employed to make a clean getaway that night and come back to the surface in order to see her again. And still, she had heard him?

"You shouldn't have heard anything," he replied, attempting to ignore the nagging voice in the back of his brain that demanded further practise to prevent the issue from arising again.

Destiny just gave her head a little shake and turned back to look at the moon. "I was hoping it was you anyway. Someone's been watching me over the last couple of weeks, but I can't seem to get a read on them. Don't stress too much about it though," she said nonchalantly. "It's just another one of my freaky tricks."

There was no mistaking the sarcastic tone of which that she used to describe her powers – Leo was sure he would have heard it from the other side of the city if she had spoken the words with the same venom as she just had. It was beyond confusing for him to hear her speak this way though, in utter distain for the special gifts that she seemed capable of handling on the slightest whim. It would be so easy to abuse them, to set out into the world and just do as you pleased without any regard for the rest of the human population. She could have all the money she could ever want, all of the power and influence that she might desire. And yet here she was hiding away from the world as if she were ashamed of herself for the things that made her different. Instead of embracing life the way that most girls her age did she was holed up in an apartment and adopting a different persona to walk the streets at night in search of the very criminals that he sought to stop.

"You're not a freak," he told her firmly, coming to stand at her side and turn his head so that he might try and look her firmly in the eye. "Different, yes – but not a freak."

Her head snapped round to look at him with the most penetrating gaze he had ever felt in his life. The only other person who had ever made him feel so vulnerable with a single look was Master Splinter, the sole person who knew everything about him without the utterance of a single word. Yet it seemed that the depths of her dark eyes read far more than Leo wished. And at the same time they disclosed to him so many intimate details about her own person that he felt almost overwhelmed by the various emotions that he could feel radiate from her eyes.

And then she turned away, walking back toward the fire escape. "You ignore the things you do not wish to see, Leonardo."

It wasn't a question. Leo followed her silently down the metal steps of the ladder until they reached the platform that sat before her living room window, the very same window through which she had carried his unconscious body only days before. Now he stepped through the open frame without her aid and slowly followed until he stood in the middle of the living room, watching the tiny movements of her body. He could see the tension that had entered her shoulders upon his declaration – it continued to linger between them even now. Though she hadn't outright said he was wrong, her words certainly lead to the assumption that she did not believe herself to be as normal as the people who were passing on the street at that very moment.

As he folded his arms over his chest, Leo couldn't help but find himself considering the reason behind every little detail of her movements and why it was that she so quickly brushed herself aside. She was probably still caught off guard by the fact that he knew the truth, he mused. Or at least as much of the truth as she was willing to relay to him at this point. Though she had shared some of the details about her abilities, he still knew nothing about where she had come from and when these powers had first been discovered. They could have been present when she was born or not manifested until several years into her youth. And while a part of him was burning to know these things about her, he couldn't bring himself to poke those holes just yet if he risked losing the small amount of trust he seemed to have gained since the night they met.

She hadn't turned him away. That had to mean something.

"I'm sorry," he said at last, noting that she turned her head a little in his direction again when he spoke. "I didn't mean to upset you, Des."

"I'm fine."

Her words came just a little too quickly for him to believe that she really was alright. He had upset her, there really was no way around the truth of the matter. And now he needed to figure out how he was supposed to set it all right.

Nervously, the turtle chewed on his lip a little bit. "Des-"

"Look, you should know that the Purple Dragons are up to something again," she interrupted, turning sharply to face him again. "I followed a lead to the convention center yesterday and overheard two of them talking about their new orders. They were both at the robbery the other night."

Leo blinked, looking at her with an expression of evident concern. She had been following some kind of lead without his knowledge, putting herself in danger when he wasn't able to be there to keep an eye on her. It was a little annoying to know that things had transpired without him, though a part of him understood the need there was to follow a lead in the hopes of discovering some new information. And it seemed that her work had paid off. Or perhaps not, he thought as he watched her brow wrinkle a little further. Something was bothering her – he could almost feel the frustration radiate off of her.

"You're sure?" he asked.

The brunette nodded. "I still don't know who they're working for, but I know that there's a shipment of something coming in at eleven. That's their target."

Without her having said another word, he already knew what she was thinking from the scowl that overtook her features. Knowing that they planned on getting some kind of shipment at eleven o'clock didn't really help to narrow down the search for the Purple Dragons. Sure, they could always sit down by the docks and wait for someone to arrive, but the docks were vast and they didn't even know when this shipment was supposed to be arriving. No doubt she had been spending quite a bit of time stalking anyone who came and went from the docks in the darkness since coming to possess this information, but how much longer could she put herself through all of that before her body decided to rebel? She wasn't looking quite as healthy as she had when the two had first met.

And she had been sporting a rather nasty wound because of him on that occasion.

Leo paused for a moment, wondering if perhaps he should even bother to ask her. "You've been down there every night, haven't you?" he began slowly, watching for any sign that she might grow frustrated and brush his questions aside. "And there's been nothing."

He could see the tension in her jaw. "No, there's been nothing so far."

"All we can do then is keep watch," offered the turtle, attempting some soft words that might allay her discomfort for the time being. "Until they are ready to move, there is very little that we can actually do, especially since we don't know what they are after or what their ultimate goal is."

"I've been watching for two days now," she snapped lightly. "And there's been nothing!" Then as she realized the tone she had taken with him, Destiny's shoulders slumped a little and sighed softly. "I'm sorry, Leo. I don't mean to be so hostile toward you."

Leo shook his head a little in response. "I know you're frustrated. I understand," he told her firmly as he nodded toward the couch and waited until she had seated herself on the edge before he continued. "The Purple Dragons are only the hired muscle for someone else who doesn't want to get their hands dirty. But we'll figure it all out, I know we will."

Still, it seemed that something continued to trouble the brunette. Despite his lack of experience in dealing with humans, least of all with their female counterparts, Leo could see that she was bothered by something she wasn't sharing with him. A frown crept into his face as he knelt down before her, a move that seemed to instantly catch her attention and cause those dark pools to jump up to his face in surprise. There was a genuine concern that she could feel radiating off of his body, a feeling that was being forced in her direction and refused to be silenced even though he had not spoken his worries aloud. And while a part of her wanted to put a little distance between herself and the mutant turtle who knelt before her in her living room she couldn't bring herself to move away, even as he slowly reached forward and placed a green hand lightly upon her knee.

"We _will_ figure this out," he repeated with a conviction she wished she could share. "There are ways that we can go about looking into this without watching the docks every night in the hopes of catching them red-handed."

For a moment, they just stared at one another in a silence that almost felt comfortable – like there were no other words that truly needed to be spoken for them to feel at ease or come to an understanding. In sensing that, Destiny couldn't help but smile softly and relax as she felt the steady gave of Leonardo upon her. Something about him was so genuine, so real…unlike most of the people that she encountered on a daily basis. And though it still bothered her a little to think that there was another of his kind running around the city that he hadn't even told her about, she knew that this was not the time to bring up that little tidbit of information. When he was ready, he would share the fact that Michelangelo existed with her.

Maybe.

"I wish I had your confidence, Leo," she murmured, letting her own hand come to rest on his with a reassuring pat. "They've been one step ahead of me for so long, and I thought I had finally caught a break! I was so sure that I was finally going to be able to take down their organization and go for the big boss."

"Give it time," he said, squeezing her knee a little. "I don't like the idea that these guys are out there anymore than you do but we can't rush this. If we spook them then they'll go underground and we might never get them."

Destiny nodded in agreement. "We can't risk that. The city is already a dangerous place with them running around as they are, I can only imagine how much worse things would get if they were to disappear."

Then the light began to shine again in her eyes as they widened a little bit in realization, causing the girl to bolt to her feet and wander over toward the window again. Leo was a little startled and watched just in case he was expected to follow, but she stopped just short of actually leaving and leaned instead against the window sill.

"Des?"

"I might know someone who can help us," she breathed, turning to look at him with a smirk on her lips. "A contact, of sorts."

Blinking, Leo looked at her with an air of slight confusion. "As Destiny…or as the Hunter?"

"The Hunter," she acknowledged, sure that he wasn't super keen on the idea of someone else having contact with the vigilante that he had done his best to stop before being shot. "I've only called him twice before, but they were for things that weren't nearly as involved as this."

Still he looked a little skeptical. And in seeing this, Destiny sighed and lifted her hands in front of her. "Look, you might not like it but it might be the only thing we have that can help. Unless of course, you want to spend every night wandering around the docks until we find something."

She was driven, he would certainly give her that. But he didn't understand the obsession she seemed to have with getting the Purple Dragons for their crime. It was almost as if there was a hidden vendetta against them that she harboured deep within her soul, so deep down in fact that he didn't think she would be able to focus on anything else until the day that she finally succeeded. Or died, he reminded himself with a small shiver. Even with all of the gifts that he knew her to possess there was always a sense that she was not able to sit idly by and just wait for things to happen.

Patience was clearly not one of her virtues.

"If you're sure," he began slowly.

Again, the brunette hurried to nod. "I am," she said firmly. "If there is anyone who might be able to give me an idea of when this heist will go down, it's my contact."

Leo wasn't entirely convinced, she could see that plainly on his face as he continued to frown behind the blue material of his mask and scrutinize her with his dark brown eyes. If there were anything else she could think to say that might put him at ease, Destiny might have attempted to allay his fears. But there really wasn't anything else to say. Until they had more information and she was able to decide how best to approach the situation they were stuck in a stalemate.

Finally, he sighed lightly and gave his head a shake. "Just…promise me you won't do anything without talking to me, okay?"

"Now don't go feeling responsible for me," she said, raising a brow in his direction. "I saved you…not the other way around, but you don't owe me anything, Leonardo."

He pursed his lips tightly together. She was right, he had to acknowledge that. She had been the one to save him that night when the bullet intended for her had lodged itself dangerously close to his heart. And while he had no mark to remind him of his close encounter there was nothing he could do to shake the memory that continued to plague him every night as he tried to regain his energies in sleep. It was too scary to think that the only reason he was still breathing was because a woman like Destiny had the capability to heal such a dangerous wound. But that reminded him of something else…

"How are you healing?"

The question seemed to catch Destiny off-guard as she opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. "I…it's getting there. Not a big deal," she told him, trying her best to shrug it off.

"Let me see it."

"Leo, really-"

"I'm not asking, Destiny."

His firm tone of voice startled her a little as she felt her arms instinctively wrap around her sides, careful not to grip too tightly to the bandage that still sat against her skin. Her brown orbs watched as he slowly approached her once again, reaching out to grasp her human hands in his three-fingered ones and lightly pry them away from her torso. For a moment their eyes were firmly locked on one another until Leo dropped his gaze instead to the injury that he knew was hidden away beneath the material of her sweater, but Destiny continued to stare at him nervously as he slowly pushed the fabric up and away from her side, exposing her naked skin to his eyes. And as he peeled back the gauze that she had taped in place and began to trace the wound with his fingers she couldn't help but shiver just a little at the lightness of his touch.

"It doesn't look too bad," he muttered to himself. "It might scar though."

She could hear the bitterness in his tone. "I don't mind," came her breathy reply. "It's not like too many people would notice it anyway."

He turned his gaze up at her once more. "_I'll_ notice."

"You won't have to see it."

Her movements were not sharp as she dropped a hand down to her side and pressed the bandage against her skin once more, dropping the side of her sweater so that his eyes could no longer see the outline of the gauze or the scar that lurked beneath. But his mind could still see the broken tissue that formed her wound, knowing where it was although she had covered it up once more. It was something he knew he would see for a while, until something else took over the forefront of his mind and forced his attentions elsewhere.

All at once, he felt the softness and warmth of her hand as she reached through the distance that lay between them and touched the muscle of his bicep with a gentleness he had never really known before. "It's not your fault," she said, repeating the words that she had already spoken to him several times over. "I made a choice. You would have died…and even though I was angry I knew that I couldn't let you die. It just….it wasn't right."

In the weeks leading up to their encounter at the jewellery store, Destiny had been followed by a presence who had at first refused to appear before her. And when they finally did, it had not been a warm reception. The stranger in the trench coat had made it perfectly clear that he didn't like seeing the Hunter roaming around on the streets at night in search of the villains who continued to plague New York City. She was acting like a vigilante, he had said, and there was no place for such actions while he was around to stop it…and he would put a stop to it, he had assured her. He would see to it that the Hunter was retired before any innocent lives were put at risk. And though an innocent life had indeed been put at risk, the end result was rather different from what Leonardo had originally intended when he had begun to follow the young woman around in the shadows of the night.

Very carefully so as not to startle her, Leo lifted an arm across his body and allowed the flesh of his hand to press against her own, holding it in place atop his bicep so that she couldn't easily pull away from him. And for a moment he just stood there, allowing himself to register the touch of a human being who regarded him without any sign of terror in her eyes. Their paths had crossed in a moment of circumstance and instead of being absolutely horrified by the differences that lay between them, she seemed to have accepted him. After all, she hadn't rejected the thought that they might see one another again after she had gone so far as to save his life.

"You really aren't afraid of me," he said, a hint of wonder in his tone as he continued to look at her with a penetrating stare.

The girl simply smiled. "You're not afraid of me, are you?"

"No."

"Then why should I be afraid of you?" Destiny asked him, cocking her head to the side a little as if this new angle might better reveal something about him to her. "We look different, sure. But deep down we both just want to be accepted for who and what we are, don't we?"

Leo blinked at her in surprise. That was essentially all that he wanted out of his life, a chance to be accepted for being who he was, though he had been warned for many of those years already that the human world was not yet ready to acknowledge his existence. Yet here, in the safety of her own home, was a human who had allowed herself to be open minded about standing close to a life-sized turtle with the capability of speech, among other things. Shell, she was reaching out right now to touch him and showed no signs of discomfort when he had laid his own hand atop her own. And she had smiled, he thought to himself, she was still smiling. There was absolutely nothing in her body at that moment to make him believe that Destiny harboured any sort of fear or anger or anything negative toward him for the trouble that he had helped to cause that night outside the jewellery store.

As he continued to watch her, her smile broadened a little more. "You accepted me just as I accepted you," she said, giving his arm a little bit of a squeeze. "It's a two way street, Leonardo. Now that you've found me…you're going to be stuck with me."

The difference between Destiny and the vigilante that he had first pursued was enough to make his head spin. Here before him was a young woman with her whole life ahead of her, seemingly happy just to stand there with him for a moment…and then when the sun set over the city she transformed into a creature of the night, determined to hunt down some of the most dangerous criminals that the city was forced to combat on a daily basis. Relentlessly she combed through the streets in search of them for reasons he still did not understand, her entire personality seeming to shift as if they were two completely different people who were forced to cohabitate in the same body.

But it was in her conviction of choosing not to leave him be that struck Leo as being the most truthful thing that she had ever said to him in the short time that they had come to know one another. In so few words she had conveyed everything he could possibly have hoped to hear. She wasn't going to walk away as if they had never met, nor would she pretend that he was anything other than what he was. He could come to her now when he needed to escape from the struggles of his own life and just be himself without judgement – he had someone on whom he could rely.

A secret friend.

The corners of his lips perked a little at the thought of having someone like her in his life as he released her hand and felt it slip away, leaving behind a much cooler sensation against his skin. "I should go," he said softly, glancing toward the window through which he had initially come.

"You'll be back."

Before he could stop himself the turtle stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her body close to his own for a brief moment. He didn't know what had possessed him to react so emotionally to this new sensation of having a friend, but she didn't seem to mind as she slipped her own arms around his chest and gave him a small squeeze. And just as quickly as he had grabbed her, he released her and made a beeline for the window, vanishing before she even had the chance to say a word. With slow steps Destiny walked over to the window and placed her hands upon the ledge, leaning out to take a look around just in case he had chosen to linger on the fire escape. But there was nothing.

She smiled, gently closing the window. _"Good night, my friend."_


	6. Chapter 6

**I know it's only been a few days since I last posted, but I finished this chapter and I just couldn't wait. I'm currently working on another one as we speak which I hope to have finished within the next week or so, and I'm already at a good planning point for what will follow beyond that. What does that mean? That means that the next story will also be worked on to follow this one! Stay tuned for the title, which I will reveal within the next few chapters! Leave a review once you've read it and let me know what you think!  
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**Chapter 6**

As she turned away from the window the smile fell away from her face and a more serious expression took its place. Quick steps carried her across the living room and back to the kitchen within seconds as she moved around the island and paused before a drawer at the very end of the counter top. She pulled it open, retrieving the single item from inside before she closed the drawer again and leaned heavily against the counter, pressing the button that would bring the tiny piece of technology to life.

Only twice before had this cell phone been activated and used to communicate with someone, but it had always been the same person. Her contact was someone who she had located almost by accident when searching for someone to help her with computer troubles, and since that time she had kept the number in the back of her mind in case she ever needed him for anything else. As it happened, there had been an instance where she had telephoned him as the Hunter, and though he had been rather surprised to hear that the vigilante was calling him for help he had been able to assist with what she had needed. It had been risky, involving an outsider like that. Once he realized who he was talking to he could have easily contacted police and helped them lay some sort of trap in order to prevent her from venturing out every night, but he hadn't.

He'd just given her the information and then hung up.

When finally the phone blinked into life she pushed a couple of buttons and brought it up to her ear, tapping a finger impatiently against the back as she waited for her contact to pick up on the other end. Once…twice…three times it rang. But on that third ring she could hear the click on the other end that signaled his entrance into conversation, a small scuffle as he placed what she assumed was an earpiece into place so that he could talk to her without interruption from anyone else.

"You've reached-"

"It's me," she interrupted, dropping her voice to the darker tone that she took on as the Hunter. "I need your help with something."

"You have my full attention."

She couldn't help but smile a little at that. In the few times that they had spoken before, she had known that he was giving her exactly that; his full attention. Despite any muffled noises that she could sometimes hear in the background on his end of the line he was always ready to provide the answers that she sought out. And he never called her by name either, just in case there was someone close by who might hear his conversation and then get their hands on the information that he was sharing with her. The last thing that she needed was to deal with someone who found out about her contact. Both of their lives might be in danger then.

"Shipments," she said, picking her body off of the counter and beginning to pace along the tile floor of the kitchen. "Large ones that might be arriving within the next two weeks or so. Anything of large monetary value that would be going to a single location."

"That's a pretty broad thing for me to look into," he commented.

But she could hear the sound of his fingers clicking on the keys lightly filter into their conversation, filling the otherwise motionless silence that started to sit between them. She didn't know what it was that he did to work his magic, bypassing all of the security systems and encryptions that protected buyer information from the public eye, but he did it. There was nothing that was beyond his reach it seemed. And while she knew that shipping information was almost nothing compared to the things that he had looked into for her before, she could still be a little amazed at just how much he was able to dig up at her request.

"Anything of particular interest?"

"What have you got?"

It was almost like she could hear the smirk on the other side of the phone line. "There's a lot of stuff coming in over the weekend, but there's only two that I think might be of interest to you," he began, fingers moving quickly against the keyboard again. "Both shipments come in at midnight on Friday. One is a museum purchase of Ancient Greek artifacts, the other is a large chemical shipment for a pharmaceutical company in the north end of the city."

Destiny frowned a little and resumed her pacing back and forth against the tiles of the kitchen floor. "Is there a name for this company?"

"Powers Incorporated."

A shock ran through her spine as the name rolled off of his tongue, bringing her pacing to a halt almost immediately. The hand holding the phone tightened into a dangerous vice-like grip and began to shake, eyes staring off into space as her mind struggled to recover from the unexpected information it was attempting to process. She never thought she would hear that name again, not in the million years. It had been so long since…she didn't want to deal with the memories just now. She didn't think she could.

The brunette gave her head a shake. "You're sure?"

"That's what the computer says," came his voice, a little more questioning than before. "You alright?"

"Of course," she said a little too quickly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

A moment of silence fell between them. "Look, we might not know much about each other," he began firmly. "But I know enough that I can tell when someone isn't dealing with something."

Her eyes narrowed a little in annoyance that she allowed herself to be so easily read by a stranger. "You said the shipments come in Friday?"

He knew that she was changing the subject. "Yeah."

"That's only three days from now," she murmured to herself, fingers flexing around the phone while her teeth bit gently into her lower lip. "They'll be ready to move as soon as the boat docks and unloads their cargo."

There was absolutely no doubt in her mind that it was the chemicals they were after now, prepared to either deliver them to the company or thieve them for someone else who would use them for more sinister things. Granted, she couldn't think of anything worse than letting Powers Incorporated get their hands on them. With all of the pain she knew had been experienced at their hands, the last thing she wanted was for them to receive their chemicals unless she knew exactly what they were for. Nobody else would ever have to suffer like that, she had sworn that when she had first put the domino mask on her face and decided to guard the streets of New York City by night. The Purple Dragons weren't her real target…but they had certainly served a purpose in helping to relieve her stress.

"They?"

His voice brought her out of her thoughts. "There's a group of thugs that have been hired to retrieve the shipment," she vaguely explained. "People who are up to no good. I want to know who they're employer is and what he wants with the chemical shipment."

"You're sure it's the chemicals?"

Destiny scoffed a little. "Trust me, it's the chemicals they're after."

"You're not seriously thinking of interrupting that on your own, are you?" he demanded.

But the girl just shrugged to herself. "It's what I do," she reminded him nonchalantly. "Don't worry about it. Thanks for your help, Don."

She could hear him sigh on the other end. "Just be careful, alright? There are some people who think that the Hunter works for the good of others aside from herself. I'd hate to hear that they unmasked your dead body on the docks."

"Thanks for your concern," she said, a smile spreading across her lips. "I'll give you a call and let you know how it goes, alright? I might need your help again."

"I'll be here."

Without saying goodbye, Destiny pulled the phone away from her ear and quickly disconnected the call, turning it off again in the process. Now she had the information that she needed, with nothing more to do than wait until Friday night when she could set out for the docks and hopefully discover the mysterious employer that had hired the Purple Dragons as their brute squad. She knew she would need to tell Leo eventually. Despite her reluctance to involve him in her business, she was fairly certain that another set of eyes would be a benefit to her…not to mention another pair of hands if they were to find themselves in a defensive situation. After all, why wear a pair of katana on the back of your shell if you didn't know how to use them?

Crossing back to the drawer she placed the phone inside and quickly shut it again, folding her arms tightly across her chest as she wandered back toward the hallway and into her bedroom. Exhaustion was beginning to creep into her body, she could feel it making her eyelids heavier and heavier as the minutes passed. She nudged the door with her hip as she passed through and didn't bother to wait for the audible click that would tell her it had closed before she flopped down on the bed and curled up into a ball, her head on her pillow.

Three days, she thought to herself. Three more days and then perhaps she could find something new, something that might better explain the past and why it had unfolded as it did. After all those years of searching and wondering she might at last have the answers that she so desperately sought. And then maybe, just maybe, she would finally seek revenge.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey all! Sorry this update took me so long but school took control of my life again and time got away from me. So leave me a little review and let me know what you think of this chapter! There will be more coming your way, I promise!  
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**Chapter Seven**

The following evening, her anxiety got the better of her. She had done her best to carry on as if it were any other day; cooking, cleaning, sorting laundry…anything that might help to take her mind off of the constant worrying and waiting that had invaded her body and refused to be replaced by any other emotion or preoccupation. She knew that there was absolutely nothing she could do until midnight on Friday when the shipment came into port, and even then there was no way for her to be completely sure that the chemicals were what the Purple Dragons had been hired to take. Maybe it _was_ the Greek artifacts that they were after. The black market was sure to be filled with people who would pay to have such priceless pieces of history in their possession, even if they were intended for someone else entirely. But her gut told her that it wasn't the artifacts that they were after and she had to stick with her gut feeling before she lost her mind entirely from thinking about it.

But by the time the sun began to set over the city, Destiny had had enough. Throwing down clothing that she had been holding in her hands, the brunette stormed out of her bedroom and down the hallway, leaving her apartment behind with a firm slam of the door before she exited the building entirely and began to walk down the street. Her arms folded themselves tightly over her chest as she walked, as if to better contain her frustration so that she might not lash out the way she wanted to.

There were too many people around – too many witnesses.

She continued to grind her teeth together in frustration as her footsteps carried her into Central Park, a sometimes dangerous place for anyone to be when the night fell and the creeps of the city decided to come out and play. Yet her mind was so preoccupied with her jittery nerves about the coming Friday night that she didn't take any real notice of where she was standing or who might be around her. Deeper and deeper she went into the green, taking herself further away from the busy streets and the crowds of people who moved back and forth on the sidewalk.

_Damn_, she thought, her pace picking up just a little more into a light jog as she moved along the pathway. There was that feeling again. For the last several weeks she had been feeling like she was being watched from the shadows, as if someone were lurking there without the intention of showing their face. At first she had thought that it was just the man in the trench coat who had been stalking her nightly activities, but now that she had met Leo she knew he was not the one she could sense. No, there was another presence in the park that night, one who had figured out how to remain hidden from her eyes. Even with all of the powers that she knew herself to possess she couldn't get a proper read on their location…which meant that she couldn't slam up them telekinetically against a tree and demand to know why they were following her either.

A soft sigh passed her lips as her footsteps finally came to a halt and her shoulder came into contact with the trunk of a nearby tree. She knew that she needed to be patient – there was too much at stake to risk losing her self-control now. After years of searching for answers and craving revenge for the wrongs that had been done to her, Destiny was finally closing in on who was responsible for everything negative that had happened in her life. At last, everything would make sense.

"Help! Somebody please!"

Her eyes flashed upward as the distressed cry rang out in the silence of the park, the voice of a young woman who was clearly in trouble. It sounded like it was coming from somewhere ahead of her, closer to the water fountain that she knew sat close to the heart of the park itself. Dealing with her invisible stalker would have to wait. There was trouble that required her attention.

Teeth grit together in frustration as she realized that she had failed to bring a domino mask with her, something she generally carried in her pocket for emergencies such as this. But in her haste to get out of the building and distract herself from her frustrations, she had overlooked the one rule she had always made to herself when leaving the apartment. But there was no time for her to worry about it now, not when the sound of someone in need had reached her ears and demanded her attention. The woman had sounded horribly frightened when she had called out, something that quickly gripped Destiny by the heart as she drew nearer and nearer to the screams that continued to penetrate the air around her. And as she drew into the place where the different paths of the park met up, Destiny's heart gave a rather violent thud in her chest.

_Purple Dragons._

The woman cowered near the edge of the water fountain that decorated the center of the area, trying to keep a distance between herself and the looming form of the seven or eight Purple Dragons who hungrily stalked closer to her. She could hear them chuckle as the woman continued to scream, shouting out in the hopes that someone might hear and come to her rescue before these men laid a hand on her. Closer and closer they crept while their leader stood chuckling in the back, his beefy arms folded over his chest as he looked on in amusement.

"Nobody is coming," he sneered at the woman who continued to cry out. "Nobody is going to save you."

"If you're smart, you'll walk away from her now."

Hun turned sharply in her direction as the laughter died, eyes narrowed and a snarl of disgust appearing on his lips as he looked at the smaller form of the girl who dared to address him so directly. His eyes locked on her small frame for only a moment before the corner of his lip curled upward in a smirk of amusement, the rumble of laughter beginning to sound in his massive chest. Clearly he was not nearly as concerned with her presence as he had initially been when she had spoken, because he now regarded her with a look that was reminiscent of the way that he had once looked upon the Hunter…

Oh boy, was he in for a surprise if he didn't back down.

"I'm not going to tell you again."

The laughter slowly died down as he turned himself fully to face her, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. "You're in the wrong place, _little girl_," he sneered down with a vicious grin.

In response, Destiny lifted a brow and squared her stance up so that she faced her larger opponent head on. "Maybe I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be."

Her persistence in the matter was clearly beginning to wear on his patience, as the smile fell away from his face and the sneer returned to his pudgy features. The ones who loomed closest to the woman were now turning their heads away to glance back at the scene that lay behind them, curious to know how their leader was going to handle this new situation. And with that momentary distraction the poor woman who had nearly been victimized bolted to her feet and shot down the nearest path that would take her away from the would-be attackers and closer to people who might come to her aid if she screamed loudly enough. A few of the Purple Dragons shifted a little when they heard her scurry away, but Hun shook his head, throwing out an arm to stop any further movement from the men who might have pursued her.

"Let her go," he rumbled, eyes fixed on his new target. "That one bores me."

With all eyes now on her, Destiny cast her glance from side to side to watch as they slowly began to circle her, trapping her within the middle of their larger frames. None of them would dare to attack until Hun gave the order. She would have only a few moments now to plan how she was going to get herself out of this mess now that the other woman had been able to break free, but thus far she was having no thought of how to get away without a fight breaking out. Even with the considerable powers that she had on her side there were still about nine or ten of them to combat. The odds were certainly not in her favour right now.

The Purple Dragons seemed to sense this as well, as they loomed a little closer and tightened ranks around her with hungry glares in their eye and wicked smiles upon their lips. Their intentions were more than clear, which made her skin want to crawl in disgust. But she stood her ground and looked around almost casually, refusing to let her hesitation show in her face lest they see it as a moment of weakness and use it against her before she was ready to defend herself. The clock was slowly winding down to when she would be forced to act, and she could only hope that she was able to react before they got the jump on her.

Chuckling to him, Hun crossed his massive arms over his chest and looked down upon her with a triumphant smirk that already told of the victory he saw in his future. "You should have left when you had the chance," he scolded in a mocking tone, clearly amused with this new situation. "Now I'm afraid you're going to wish you hadn't been walking around by yourself."

Despite herself, Destiny raised a brow in his direction. "Do I look worried?"

"No, but you should be."

As if on cue one of the men who stood around her leapt forward with the intention of grabbing onto her arm, but he missed entirely when Destiny pivoted on her foot and stepped out of his reach, flying into a fellow Dragon on the opposite side of the circle with a loud crunch. From behind she could hear a second man make the attempt to immobilize her and again repeated the action to the left, tripping him up so that he landed face first on the pavement beneath her feet. With a coy smile toward their leader, the young woman placed both hands on her waist and shifted her weight until it sat entirely on the one side of her body, giving her a much more feminine look than before.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Was that the best you can do?"

The fury in his eyes was unmistakable. Taunting him was perhaps not the best move that she could have made but it was buying Destiny the time that she needed to formulate a plan. She had no weapons, no real way of defending herself without exposing her powers to all of the men who currently stood around her. Her original intention of going for a walk to clear her head had turned into the greatest debacle she had encountered since taking up the mask of the vigilante because it her life was now at greater risk than ever before. Exposing powers meant exposing her face, and exposing her face meant that anyone who might have a vendetta against the Hunter would have a much easier time tracking her down. Were it only herself she needed to worry about than perhaps it might not have been such a huge consideration, but there was also Leo and his brother to think about. She didn't want to think of what people might do with the information that there were life sized turtles walking around New York City.

But it looked like time had run out.

With a snap of his fingers Hun had the entire company of Purple Dragons launching their own personal assault on the intruder who had ruined their previous fun. To try and avoid any sort of physical contact with them Destiny crouched as low as she could managed and pushed off hard from the ground, soaring above their heads until she landed safely on the other side of their circle.

One leg instantly stretched out to sweep one of the men off balance and bring him down to her level, but the quick movements she had earlier displayed now held no surprise for her attackers and a few of them were able to turn around without getting too tangled in their friends. The first one to lay a hand on her was quickly met with the heel of her palm against his nose, which sent him backwards as he howled in pain and cupped his hands around his face to try and stop the flow of blood that appeared almost instantly.

One down.

Destiny pushed herself to her feet and ran across the pavement, leading the men in a chase that would end at the very edge of the water fountain where they had cornered the other woman earlier. With a sharp twist of her foot she brought her heel against the jaw one the closest Dragon and let him fall straight into another until three had been knocked over completely. Another jump and she was leap frogging over the head of yet another who launched himself forward. The splash behind her was evidence enough of his rather embarrassing defeat. Her right hand balled into a fist and thrust out to connect with one man's sternum and her left knee rose to connect with another's stomach. For the moment, it looked like she might actually win.

But as she withdrew her fist she felt the sudden pressure of a hand wrap itself around her wrist and hold her tight. Hun had somehow managed to sneak around her, taking hold of her in his beefy hand for only a moment before he reached back and threw her across the clearing of the park. It was only when her back made contact with a tree that Destiny felt herself come to a stop, now dazed from the impact and unable to fight back when two of his men finally gathered their wits and held her tightly between the two of them, forcing her to her feet. In a matter of seconds she knew it would be over. She'd have no choice but to force her body to focus long enough to push them all off of her and hope that she could escape in her disorientated state.

Then her secret would be out.

"You don't look so well."

Her head flew off to the side as Hun struck her face with the back of his hand, causing the girl to grit her teeth against the groan that threatened to sound in her moment of pain. But damn did it sting, and now her neck hurt too from the whiplash effect that she had experienced as well. Then came the feeling of his fist plunging itself into her stomach, and Destiny couldn't keep back the cry that started in her throat as she once again hit the trunk of the tree with her spine. She crumpled to the ground, coughing and wheezing as she struggled to take the air into her lungs. Everything was fuzzy, so much so that she dared not use her powers in case they flew completely off target and injured someone else who happened to be nearby in the process.

And then she felt his cold fingers close around her throat as he dragged her to a standing position, ignoring the struggle that she tried to put up as she kicked her legs to try and come back into contact with the ground. Her hands instantly flew to upward to try and pry his sausage-like fingers away from the tender skin of her throat. And when she tried to pull him away, the pressure only grew until she was once more gasping for the air that failed to make it into her lungs.

"Now you're going to regret that you meddled in this tonight," he hissed at her, bringing his face closer to her own as he pinned her roughly against the tree once more.

There was no response from the girl, she didn't have the energy or the air to say anything witty in her defense. But the answer came from somewhere above as a roar reached her ears and scattered the leaves from within the tree. In his surprise Hun released his hold on Destiny's throat until she once again lay sprawled on the ground, heaving to try and regain some sense of balance that might tell her what had happened to make Hun let her go so quickly. And while her eyes could not see what was happening, her ears could hear the thumps of a fight and the occasional clash of metal against metal.

She didn't know how long the fight lasted, but soon there were voices calling out in retreat and footsteps that began to fade into the distance. All at once the silence began to settle around her until there was only one sound to echo in the distance that moved toward her with more speed and stealth than any of the Purple Dragons could possess. They gathered her slowly into their arms until she was cradled against their chest, holding her a little tighter when she tried to struggle in protest.

"It's okay kid, I got ya."

And then everything went dark.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hope you all enjoyed the last chapter! Here is another to move this story along. Feel free to leave me a review when you're finished, because I'd love to hear what everyone thinks so far! Please also know that I will now start using my account's profile page to try and keep you all up to date on my writing status. This way you will have a better idea of when to expect new chapters for the stories I'm currently writing as well as what ideas have come to mind for future stories. Thanks for reading!  
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**Chapter Eight**

She had fallen unconscious even before he started moving from the park, which he knew was never a good sign with the injuries that she had sustained. The altercation between herself and Hun had lasted only a few short minutes, but his hulking size had given him an advantage against the girl and clearly proven to be the deciding factor in their fight. Maybe if he had decided to move further into the park before the sounds of the fight had reached his ears he might have been able to spare her from the brunt of his attack. If only he had just moved a little faster…

With his teeth grit tightly together in frustration he looked down at the motionless figure in his arms, hoping and praying that he would be able to get her the help that she needed without causing too much of an uproar. Though her injuries appeared to be non-life threatening there was a strong sense of guilt that ran its course through his body, nagging at the back of his mind that he owed it to her after everything she had been through to at least see her better. Was it a smart idea? Shell, no – he had never been known for his smarts. But it was the only plan that he had.

And taking her to a human hospital was out of the question.

It didn't take long for him to reach the nearest man-hole in the park, shrouded still by the darkness that the night time offered to him as a protective cover from the eyes of any wandering humans who might be in the area. He knelt against the ground and carefully adjusted the way that he held onto her body until he was able to reach out with one hand and pull the cover back, slipping down beneath the surface and then sliding it back into place once more. The journey to the lair wouldn't take long with the short cuts that he had discovered over the past many years of living beneath those who survived on the surface above.

But those people, those surface dwellers, were not his concern at the moment. No, the only concern he had was in making sure that he reached the lair in good time to minimize the damage that might otherwise happen to her body. She wasn't as durable as he was, though he noted the fact that she could take a beating to rival most humans. The girl was definitely squishy in most parts though, for she didn't have the added protection of a shell or the aid of additional training to really keep her safe when she wandered the streets at night. But she was pretty damn stubborn, and he hadn't yet decided whether that was a positive or negative trait to have in her current state.

Deeper and deeper into the bowels of the sewer system he went, holding her smaller body tightly to his chest as if to further protect her from any abuses that might dare to come her way. They weren't far now – only another minute or so. He knew that the turn was coming up ahead that would lead him to the secret lever placed into the brick wall that separated the interior of the lair from the exterior. It was a part of the old system that nobody used anymore but the precaution had been put in place nonetheless. The risk of being discovered was too great.

"Come on kid," he growled again, glancing down at the unconscious form in his arms. "Come on."

There was no response. She'd taken just enough of a beating that her body couldn't handle remaining conscious, and so he doubted that she even saw him jump down from the tree to come to her aid. And maybe that was a good thing. He'd been watching her for so long now that he was sure she wouldn't take too kindly to being helped like that, most especially because the help came from a creature that shouldn't exist by the standards of the society that they tried to be part of. Granted, that didn't change the fact that either of them _did_ exist.

He reached out sharply to move the lever in the wall that would allow the doorway to show itself, shifting his home on her body once more to ensure that he was cradling her head and shoulders properly to prevent any further hurt on her part. As soon as there was enough of a gap for him to slip through, he twisted his body and hurried into the vast space that presented itself to him, looking about for any sign of the one person he knew might be able to properly assess the damage done to her body.

"Yo, Raph! Where did you – WHOA!"

As he knelt down and laid her on the open couch he was quickly joined by one of his brothers, who seemed to take an immediate interest in his arrival as he spied the contents of his arms. "Donnie! I need you in here now!"

Raph looked up in the hopes of spotting the brother he called out for, hearing him begin to arrive just as his first brother leapt over the back of the couch and circled around to where the girl's head now lay. For a moment all he did was stare, peering down at her with curious eyes until he inhaled sharply and his gaze widened a little to look over at the brother who had brought the human girl into their domain.

"Dude…do you know who this is?" he asked as the excitement began to creep into his tone. "This is the Hunter, man!"

"The Hunter?"

The name of the vigilante brought Donnie running in even faster as he took his place among his brothers and impatiently shifted between them until he could kneel by her side to better examine his patient. Neither he nor Raph were really listening as their brother gushed about his meeting with her at the convention earlier in the week, when they had been forced to hide together in a dark corner of the room so that they could overhear the evil plot being hatched by members of the Purple Dragons. The way he explained the situation made it sound a little like a comic book panel anyway, and so Donnie focused on the injuries he could see blooming on her flesh instead. Eyes squinted a little beneath the purple material that was tightly pulled around his face, analyzing the bruises that had begun to darken her face a little as he brushed the skin with light fingers.

Without looking at his brother, Donatello continued his work. "Mikey, go get sensei. Raph, I need my kit."

"Aww, man! Why do I have to-"

"GO!"

Raphael's sharp tone was all that was required to send Mikey on his way, scurrying back toward his sensei's room as if his life depended on it. If Donatello noticed the sharpness and thought anything of it he didn't say a word as he continued to assess the unconscious form in front of him. With slight hesitation did he lift the edge of her shirt and slowly pull it up to rest at the top of her ribcage, noting the damaged ribs that he could already see through her shallow breathing. Yes, things were definitely pretty bad for her, but he had certainly seen worse and knew that she wasn't in immediate danger. If nothing else, it was her head and the bruise he could see forming on her temple that caused him the most concern.

"What happened?" he asked as Raph returned to his side with his medical kit.

"Purple Dragons," he hissed through grit teeth. "They had someone cornered in the park and she jumped in to let her get away."

Supplies came flying out of his kit as Donatello set to work, his gaze never wavering from the vigilante currently laying on his couch. "And you just happened to be in the park at that time?"

"Quit with the stupid questions," barked Raph. "Is she gonna be okay or not?"

He could hear the anger in his brother's tone without issue, but he also picked up on the anxiety that was laced in with those words. There was something in the way that his brother was hovering about that struck Donatello as being rather strange compared to his normal habits, for if there was a brother who hated the idea of medical treatment the most it was certainly Raphael. His fear of needles seemed to constantly come up when he needed to be treated for something, as if a cut to his bicep might require a needle in order to prevent infection when a good cleaning, some ointment and a bandage would do. If you asked him, his older brother could sometimes be prone to over reacting.

But Mikey had recognized her face and called her by her vigilante name. How as that even possible? Nobody knew who this person was, for she was a figure of the night who operated in the shadows just as he and his brothers did. The whole point of her guise was that she went after the criminals of New York City and protected the people who might otherwise fall prey to their treachery…

And yet he had heard her speak a few times in the past, for he had somehow become a part of her network as she did her best to locate the new hotspots through the tips on the street. Where had she gotten the number to call him? He didn't know. She could have been one of the countless people who called the hotline for technical assistance every day when they couldn't figure out how to make their computer run the way they wanted, or why their television wasn't allowing them to watch all of the channels that they were paying for. Either way he supposed it didn't really matter. What mattered was that the voice on the other end of the phone now had a face and that face needed his help.

"Raphael."

He winced a little when he heard the voice of his sensei approach the back of the couch, knowing that his eyes were sure to be locked on the activity currently happening on the other side. "I didn't have a choice, Master Splinter," he said quickly, jumping in before he could be reprimanded for bringing a human into their lair. "I couldn't take her to a human hospital and just dump her there."

Without being prompted he began to recount the entire story, beginning from when he came across her in the park and how he came to be involved. Throughout his explanation Master Splinter remained silent, listening and observing to the deliverance of the story so that he could better discern the truth of the matter without exposing any hidden facts. There was certainly something amiss however, for he had not seen his son looking so concerned about another living creature aside from his brothers before. There was something different in the way that Raphael looked between the unconscious girl and the swift movements that came from Donatello's hands as his fingers continued to dance along the injuries on her skin. He flinched each time Don had to push her shirt out of his way and almost panicked if there was too much time between each intake of air that proved she was still alive.

Donatello continued his work diligently, speaking only when he needed to have something else handed to him as he tended to the various cuts and bruises upon her body. It didn't appear that anything had been broken during her altercation with Hun, and for that she was genuinely lucky. Even compared to his own size he thought she was small, so to imagine her standing up to the likes of Hun and the Purple Dragons was a thought that both impressed and astounded him. How could she be so foolish as to think that she had a chance against them? Even with all of the training that he and his brothers had endured over the years they had spent in the sewers of New York there were times when they too were beaten pretty good by the enemy. What on earth was going through her mind when she stepped into that situation? Was she mad?

"She's been beat up pretty bad," Don finally said, brushing his forehead with the back of his hand after replacing her shirt over her stomach again. "It doesn't look like anything was broken, but she took a good hit to her head. She might be out for the next few hours."

"But she's gonna be okay, right?" Raphael asked quickly.

Don shrugged his shoulders a little. "I think so. I think she just needs to rest and let her body heal itself."

Knowing that there was precious little else he could do to help her right now, Don slowly began to pack up his kit once more and removed himself from the side of the couch. Mikey continued to stare down in awe as Raph watched the slow rise and fall in her chest, which left Master Splinter to stand quietly with his thoughts. Such an interesting creature, he thought to himself, so like April O'Neil and yet so different. Though April had found herself involved in their lives for quite some time now she looked to be older than the girl that Raphael had brought into their midst, and by the name that he had heard his son's call her he knew that she was far more involved in the nightlife than April was.

"What's so interesting about the couch, guys?"

All eyes rose to the upper level of the lair and the person who spoke, seemingly unsure of how they were to address the subject…all that is except for Mikey, who was rather quick to jump in and inform his brother of what he had missed so far.

"Leo, you're never gonna believe this! The Hunter got her butt kicked by the Purple Dragons and Raph brought her home!"

"WHAT?!"

In an instant he had hopped down from the upper floor and swung himself down to join the others, moving faster than normal within the confines of the lair. A look of panic overtook his features as he approached the couch and saw Destiny's battered form before him, moving around to kneel at the arm of the couch that was closest to her head as he placed one of his green hands against the side of her face that bore the bruise. The others simply looked at him in confusion at his actions, for they had all known just how much Leo had been attempting to locate the Hunter during the night in order to bring an end to the actions of the vigilante. It was too dangerous to have some masked human out there on the streets thinking that they could play the hero, he had reasoned. They needed to be stopped before they got hurt or cost someone else their life.

And yet here he was with his hand tenderly placed against her cheek as he looked up at Donatello, a deep frown etching itself into his brow. "What happened?" he demanded.

"Purple Dragons," Raph said bitterly as he quickly pulled himself away from the couch and into the kitchen area for a few moments. "She was tryin' to save a woman from bein' their next victim and ended up way in over her head."

"So why didn't you do something sooner?"

"Hey, she'd been spendin' the last couple of nights down at the docks, okay? How was I supposed to know that she'd go for a walk in the park instead?"

All at once the room seemed to freeze as they processed the words that had been spoken, trying to understand how it was that Raphael knew she would be going down to the docks. Even Master Splinter was looking over at his back, waiting for the moment when he might turn around and explain himself. With a heavy sigh his shoulders fell and at last he turned, walking back to the couch with a bowl of water and a cloth in his hand. He knelt back down on the ground and took the cloth in hand, wringing the extra water back into the bowl before he folded it neatly and placed it against her brow which prompted Leo to remove his hand from her skin.

"I've been watchin' her for a while," admitted the brother. "I knew who she was. I saw her goin' to and from her place as both herself and the Hunter…and I know what she can do. I can't explain why, but something about her just caught my attention, y'know? I couldn't walk away."

"Actually, I do know."

Raph's dark eyes snapped up to look at his brother. From where he sat behind her head, Leo didn't return his gaze. Instead he simply looked down at Destiny's still form and blinked in an effort to clear his thoughts from the muddled mess that they had become.

He gave his head a bit of a shake. "I chased her down the night of the jewelry store robbery," he began slowly. "The Purple Dragons were involved in that too, and though they took more than they needed they were after one item in particular. She was going to stop them but I got in the way, distracted her and got us both shot. Instead of leaving me to die she somehow managed to take me away from there and back to her apartment where she healed me."

Shifting himself slightly Leo touched the faded mark in his skin that had once been a fatal bullet wound. She hadn't healed him enough to erase the mark completely, but Leo had taken it as a sign that he owed her a debt he would likely never be able to repay. His brothers simply stared at him, confused by the way his story had played out because of how he had returned to them later that night with no signs of trauma at all. Was that where the mysterious mark had come from? Had she actually been able to save Leo from a premature death?

"This is the friend that you spoke of?" asked Master Splinter in his soft voice.

Leo nodded slowly. "Destiny," he murmured. "Her name is Destiny…and she is the Hunter."

"I knew it!" exclaimed Mikey, clearly pleased with himself for having remembered so much of her face despite the mask she had worn and the distance she had put between them. "I knew it was her! I met her at the convention a few days ago! That's where she heard all about the shipment coming into the docks that the Purple Dragon were supposed to pick up."

Now it was Donatello's turn to be surprised. "Wait…Raph, you said she was down at the docks the last few nights?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "Like she was waitin' for somethin'."

But Donatello just shook his head. "No, I don't think she was waiting for anything. I think she was scouting ahead for Friday night."

Now it was time for the smarter brother to be put on the spot. He shifted uncomfortably at the number of eyes he could feel on him at that moment, but he squared his shoulders and looked around the room at them all anyway. Better to own up to the truth now and deal with the consequences then hide away like a coward, he thought. Leo would have found out eventually.

"She and I have been in contact before," he stated firmly. "Only ever as Don and the Hunter. I don't know how she found me, but she's called me three times from a blocked number to ask for my help in locating things and putting together puzzle pieces that she couldn't trust anyone else with. She called me a few days ago after overhearing that there was a shipment that needed to be picked up. I assume that was when she was with you," he added, turning his gaze to Michelangelo. "I'm the one who looked up the shipment information and told her about the two that were likely to be their target, both of which arrive Friday night at midnight."

He could see the muscled in Leo's jaw begin to tighten a little as he swallowed the information, but Donatello refused to look sheepish or ashamed. What was done, was done. Neither he nor Leo could change that now. Because unlike his brother, who had eventually come to learn that the Hunter was not a dangerous person with their own agenda, Don had immediately trusted this new stranger of the night after hearing about the good things that she had done. Had it taken him a moment to accept that it was a woman? Perhaps. But only because statistics said men were more likely to develop hero complexes.

"So you two knew her as the Hunter," Raph said, looking from Don to Mikey. "And Leo knew both sides of her."

"While you knew both and yet neither," Leo finished. "She didn't freak out when she saw that I was a giant turtle…but she never once said that she had met you, Mikey."

The orange masked brother gave a bit of a chuckle, folding his arms over his chest. "Funny, she never mentioned you to me either, bro."

When silence filled the room, it was Master Splinter who next addressed them. "She has already proven herself worthy of our secret."

At least the secret was out now, they thought to themselves. There would no more hiding the truth from their family and hoping that they would be able to keep their little secret to themselves. What had once been their own private matter was now something that connected them all and would force them to come to a decision of some kind on how to deal with the matter, because when the girl woke up she would find herself in a completely different world from the one she had previously been in. There could be no more secrets.

"We'll need to keep an eye on her," Don finally said. "I don't know how bad her head injury might be."

"I'll stay," Raph quickly volunteered.

But Leo just shook his head, pressing a hand into his brother's shoulder. "You were out all night watching for her," he reasoned. "Get some sleep. I'll watch over her."

Though he hesitated for a moment, Raphael did not argue with his older brother. Finally he pushed himself to his feet and grabbed the blanket that had been left in a ball in the armchair nearby, shaking it out before he laid it over her body to keep her warm. No doubt she would soon feel the cold chill of the sewer if she hadn't already begun to feel it prickle against her skin.

"Call me if there's any change."

Leo nodded in agreement, and without another word Raphael turned on his head and moved to the upper floor of the lair, where he could hide himself away in the darkness of his own room and ponder the events of that night. He closed the door sharply behind him and flopped down on the mattress of his bed, lacing his fingers behind his head as he stared up into the darkness. Master Splinter had always told him that things were going to happen for a reason, whether it be good or bad, and he would have to suffer the consequences of his actions.

But what if she had to suffer them in his place?


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm pleased to let you all know that I've now finished this chapter and am looking forward to creating more. As I post this I have already begun writing the following chapter and finished laying the outline of the rest of the story, in addition to the one that will follow. I will shortly be announcing to you all the title of the following story, as I intend to write at least another five of them to follow this one, so I hope that I have the interest of some of you to keep reading my work. If you have the time, please leave me a review and tell me what you think. **

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**Chapter Nine**

They took turns watching over her as the night slowly gave way to the early morning hours. Without knowing the extent of her head injury they dared not move her from the couch, but instead focused on attempting to keep her warm enough that her body would begin to heal itself without the worry of trying to keep her alive as well. Within the first two hours of his watch Leo had abandoned the cloth across her forehead and instead piled two more blankets atop her body. By the time Mikey came and took up Leo's position beside her at five o'clock they knew that something had taken control of the lair and shifted everything away from their normal patterns.

There was precious little that could get Mikey out of bed at such an hour.

It was oddly quiet around the lair, with everyone moving about as if they were already preparing for a funeral of some kind and thus remained silent out of respect for the dead. It was only when six o'clock appeared that the sounds of Raphael in the dojo could be heard as he continued to beat up on the punching bag that Donatello had replaced only two days before. The sound resonated through the lair for almost three hours before he finally called it quits.

Shortly before noon Don moved into the living room and put his hand on Mikey's shoulder, a silent signal that he would take up watching over her fragile form so that he could rest or do whatever else it was that his body required of him after sitting so such a long period of time. And so proceeded the day beneath the sewers of New York City as four giant turtles and a rat cared for the injured human who had been brought into their midst. She was left for only short periods of time so that someone could wander into the kitchen and replenish their body with food and water before they returned to her side, eyes carefully trained to the gentle rise and fall of her chest to ensure that she was still alive. Otherwise there was someone there almost constantly, each lost in their own thoughts of how she had come to be a part of his individual life. It was a strange phenomenon, knowing that her presence was sure to change absolutely everything they had known before. After all, how often did someone get to say that they had an unconscious vigilante in their living room?

Come five o'clock in the evening, Raphael had arrived to take his turn beside her. He spoke not a word to Donatello as he came to hover around the couch with his arms crossed firmly over his chest, but the message rang loud and clear. The time had come for him to take his watch over her unconscious body and he didn't want anyone to make a fuss or ask him questions that he had no intention of answering. And though he had several questions that he wished to ask, Don knew that he was further ahead to just bow out gracefully and let the matter lie for the time being.

There would come a time for answers later.

But as he wandered around the lair for the next several hours, Don took careful note of what he saw in his brother as he continued to stand his guard. She was safe within the walls of their home, there was no doubt of that. And yet Raph continued to keep himself close, eyes darting around at the slightest sign of movement as if he were expecting some other kind of attack that he would need to defend her from. To see him so protective around someone aside from his brothers made Don pause for a moment, wondering what it was about this girl that sparked such an instinct in the brother who was better known for his stubborn streak and rebellious nature than the stoic stance that he had adopted as of late. Perhaps it was guilt, Don thought to himself. However it was that Raph had come to follow her over the last few nights…well, he hadn't been in the park during the beginning of the attack. Maybe that was what was bothering him now.

Knowing better than to broach the subject with his brother, Donatello continued on his way and retreated back to his own little world so that Raph could continue to look over the girl in peace. There was little else they could do for her until she woke, or things became so dangerous that they were forced to take her to a hospital on the surface, which was something they didn't want to consider if they could avoid it. Attempting to take her to other humans in order to see her trusted into their care was a precarious thing for giant turtles.

Throughout the hours that followed there were several offers of relief, but Raphael shook his head at them all and spoke not a word. None of the others understood the determined look on his face, nor did they question it. Leo thought to ask once, but thought better of it as soon as he caught sight of the heavy frown that had placed itself on his brother's brow. An argument between them was not appropriate right now. Master Splinter would surely admonish them soundly for causing such unrest while their patient was present.

As the clocks chimed ten, however, Raphael could feel the weariness begin to overtake him. Five solid hours he had been by her side, and yet there seemed to be no change in her at all. There were still the gentle movements of her chest to tell him that air was still being brought into her lungs but that was it. There was no movement, no improvement in colour…nothing that might tell him that there was a reason for him to be hopeful about her recovery. _Damn it_, he thought to himself as he grit his teeth together. If only he hadn't been so stupid. He should have gone back to the apartment and followed her to her destination, not just assumed that she would again go down to the docks to look around for whatever it was that had caught her attention. That was the reason she was laying before him all beaten up for a second time.

His eyes closed tightly against the haunting images of the memory he did his best to erase, his thumb and forefinger reaching up to rub at the corners of his eyes as if that too might help to keep the guilt he felt at bay. It was years ago, he reminded himself, a day that neither of them were likely keen to remember. So why was he torturing himself with the past?

It was only by hearing a gentle moan that the dark skinned turtle allowed himself to be pulled from his thoughts, hand falling away from his face and body leaning forward as he stared down at the girl he had dared to bring down into his world. No, he hadn't been hearing things. Her brow twitched slightly as she fought to open her eyes and her head turned slightly in his direction as another moan escaped her lips, confirmation that she was indeed finally waking up after nearly twenty-four hours of unconsciousness. For a moment he considered calling out to the others to alert them to the change, but he instantly thought better of it. He'd scare her if he did that, and that was the last thing that he wanted to do.

And when at last she did open her eyes he could feel his heart stop for just an instant. That was when he realized that her gaze rested solely on him.

"Hey," he murmured gently in a tone that was almost alien to him. "How you feelin', kid?"

He disregarded the fact that he was clearly not the human being she would have expected to see upon waking from a coma, momentarily forgetting that his form was not customary to the world in which she lived. But if there was any sort of fear or uncertainty in her head that might have caused her to panic at the sight of him, he didn't see a trace of it in her eyes. Instead she blinked up at him as her eyes readjusted themselves to the light in the room and stared for a moment. No fear, no doubt…just a deep consideration of what she was looking at.

"You…"

Not understanding, Raph tilted his head a little to look at her through the red fabric of the mask that was pulled tightly across his face. Maybe she had been hit in the head harder than he thought.

"You're gonna be okay," he told her, reaching out with one hand until he caught himself and thought better of it. No point in scaring her, he thought to himself. "You just got a little roughed up, that's all."

Destiny blinked quickly again and turned her head a little to take in her surroundings, fingers twitching against the material of the couch that she found herself to be laying on while the exposed skin of her arms registered the fabric of a blanket. Or several, as it seemed, since the weight was significantly more than it would have been for just one blanket. But the space above her head didn't resemble the interior of her apartment at all, and she knew that the turtle sitting by her side wasn't Leo either. Not only was the mask the wrong colour and his weaponry different, but his tone of voice and phrasing were completely off as well.

That made three.

She shifted her hands and attempted to push herself upward, but was quickly hit with a sharp pain in her side that forced her back down onto the couch with a hiss. Her guardian was rather quick to react as well, slipping an arm under her back as a means of support regardless of which way she ended up going. A few short breaths assured her that the pain would subside after a moment and her eyes flickered to the side where she saw him smirk down at her from where he knelt at her side.

"Yeah, shoulda warned you about that," muttered the turtle in a slightly apologetic tone. "You've been out for about a day and you took a bit of a beating in the park. Donnie thinks you've bruised your ribs."

A day? She had been unconscious for a whole day?! That meant that Friday night was finally upon them and her prey would shortly be down at the docks to obtain their shipment. So what the hell was she doing? She needed to get the hell out of there and across town before they got away. She couldn't allow those chemicals to be taken, but she sure as hell wanted to know what they were being used for by the company who had purchased them.

The brunette quickly shook her head, gritting her teeth in preparation for the discomfort she would shortly feel as she tried a second time to sit upright. "I'm fine."

A bit of a lie, considering the amount of energy it took for her to lift her body from the couch. Even with the help that her guardian provided she was almost breathless by the time she made it, hunched over and breathing as heavily as one who had just finished a marathon. The movement was enough to make the blanket slide from her torso, revealing many of the bruises that had been earned the night of the attack in the park. Well, looking like a human canvas wasn't exactly what she had intended to come out of that looking like, but better that than another pretty corpse in a body bag.

"Thank you."

He was a little caught off guard and gave his head a bit of a shake. "For what?" he asked her.

"I know you're the one who fought them off in the park," came the response, a touch of a smile at the corners of her lips as she cast a sideways glance in his direction. "And I know that you've been following me. I owe you my life."

To cover the slight confusion that he felt at her thanks, the turtle scoffed a little. "Yeah well, I hear you saved Leo. So we'll call it even, okay?"

"Leo?"

The name seemed to register with the girl almost immediately and caused her to turn her head as if she expected to see him walk over to her at any moment. Oh boy, if he saw her now that she was awake she knew she would be in a bit of trouble. Being unconscious had made it rather difficult for her to heal any part of her body that had been injured during her fight with the Purple Dragons, and now that she was awake she barely had the energy to get herself upright, never mind deal with the pretty colours that were sure to be all over her body. And based on the aches and pains she could feel just from where she sat she knew that she had taken a couple of good solid hits that night. _Perfect_, she thought. _Just bloody perfect._

"Hey, you're awake!"

_No way_, she thought as the voice rang through the lair and was immediately recognized by her brain. She'd heard it a few times in the past, enough times for his tonality to register with her and become one that she could pick out in a crowd. And sure enough when the girl turned her head yet again there was another giant turtle walking up to her with a bright smile of relief plastered against his face. Only this one wore a mask of purple fabric, the back of his shell adorned by a long shaft of wood that Destiny knew to be a bo staff, a very specific choice of weaponry used by those who studied to be ninjas a long time ago.

"Don," she said quietly, blinking a few times to make sure she wasn't seeing things. "As in…Donatello?" He nodded quietly as he approached her and knelt down on her other side, giving her a moment to turn her eyes over to the first turtle she had seen after waking up. "Let me guess…that would make you Raphael, right?"

Despite himself, Raph couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, that's me alright."

"Renaissance men," she muttered to herself. "Someone has a sense of humour."

Another bout of soft laughter moved between them until Destiny felt another sharp stab in her side and hunched forward, wrapping one of her arms tightly around her abdomen as her hand applied pressure to the offending spot. In an instant the laughter died as both brothers lurched in her direction to try and steady her, each with their own look of concern. As gently as he could Donatello reached forward and lifted up the side of her shirt as he pried her fingers away from the side of her body, examining the wound that he had had to bandage up when she had first been brought down to him. She'd torn the skin again and started to soak the bandage clean through. He'd need to swab the area again to rid it of possible infection before he changed the gauze.

"Just sit here and relax, okay?" he said, pushing himself back to his feet again. "I need to grab my kit so I can clean that up for you."

Only when she started to breathe a little easier again did Raphael release his grip on her upper body. "I'll let Master Splinter know she's okay," he said slowly, keeping his eyes on her. "Don't do anything stupid while we're gone."

"I make no promises."

The two of them seemed to accept the weak smile that touched the corners of her mouth as truth, for it took them only a second more of observing her before they each turned their backs and began to walk away in their desired directions. There was only one moment when Raph turned his head to glance back at her, but he quickly disappeared around a corner and out of sight just as Don did, which left Destiny to her own devices. The instant they were gone, she started to move, forcing her back into a painful standing position while struggling to make as little noise as possible so that they would not return before she had vanished.

Time was of the essence. The glow of a nearby clock had warned her of the late hour as soon as she had come to realize what day of the week it was, though she had struggled to ensure that her realization did not show in her face. If there was even the slightest hint that she might be planning to leave she knew they never would have left her alone as they had. But they wouldn't understand, she told herself. This was something that she needed to do regardless of what physical state she was in. She couldn't allow the Purple Dragons to get hold of that shipment, nor could she allow it to travel to Powers Incorporated without her knowledge of what the chemicals were going to be used for. Her own personal experiences of the past already knew that they were for nothing good…and she wouldn't allow it to happen again.

Now standing, it took Destiny a moment to find her balance and shake off the swimming vision that took control of her eyes for a moment before she dared to take a step forward and winced at the movement. Damn, tonight was going to be rather difficult to handle. If she managed to find her way out of this place and back into the streets without being caught by the band of brothers, that in itself would be a miracle.

She took a deep breath to prepare herself and wrapped her arm around her side once more before she started off, gritting her teeth against the throbbing pain that she began to feel beneath the pressure of her hand. There wasn't enough strength in her to use any of her abilities to help guide her out of the sewer system – she'd have to move as far as she could until she made it to a ladder that likely lead to the surface and hope that it didn't bring her out in the middle of a busy street. That was all she could do. But she wasn't going to miss that rendezvous.

They weren't going to get away.

He was absolutely relieved to hear that she had finally woken from her coma, knowing that the dangers were likely behind her and she would now slowly begin to heal from her injuries. Raph had popped his head into his room only a few moments before to let Leo know of the change in their patient before he carried on to tell Master Splinter, a gesture that Leo found to be oddly reassuring from his rebellious younger brother. Very seldom did Raphael ever pass news onto Leo in such a genuine manner, for his speech was normally laced with some kind of sarcasm or disgruntled tone that immediately told him that one of the others had sent him on an errand to find the rest of his brothers. Unless of course there was some serious shell to raise somewhere. Then Raph was all for getting his brothers together to go topside.

But as he walked back into the living room area, he immediately knew that something wasn't right. There were no signs of life within the room aside from himself, no gentle breathing or movement from the couch that might tell him of her conscious state. To the railing of the second floor he raced until he had a clear view of the empty couch below.

"RAPH! DONNIE!"

He leapt over the edge of the railing with ease and landed on the balls of his feet, steadied by a hand to the floor before he sprung upright again and bolted to the side of the couch to stare down at the empty space in confirmation. The blankets that had previously covered her unconscious body had been moved and pushed to the far edge of the couch, but there was no sign of Destiny at all. Had he not seen her for himself he might have thought that perhaps the entire thing had been a figment of his imagination…but the turtle knew better. Panic consumed him as he looked up to see the others approach at a run, each one wearing their own look of concern when they realized why it was that their brother had called out to them.

"She's gone?!"

"Please tell me you didn't just leave her here," Leo said, turning to look at his brothers.

Donatello groaned, planting his hand firmly against his face. "We did," he admitted sheepishly. "We should have known better."

"So why did you do it?!" Leo demanded.

"Hey, I came to let you know she was awake," Raph countered darkly, tension beginning to mount in his body. "Would you rather I left you in the dark?"

"If it meant she would still be sitting here then yes!"

"Whoa, dudes!" Mikey interjected, placing himself between his two brothers with arms outstretched in case their quarrel mounted to blows. "It's not like we expected her to get all that far, you know? She was kind beat up."

"And it's not like we don't know where she's going," Donatello agreed. "If we hurry we might be able to find her before she reaches the surface."

"Then what the shell are we waiting for?"

"You must go, now."

The turtles all turned in unison to see their sensei standing before them with his hands folded neatly behind his back, dark eyes locked upon their figures as if he were scrutinizing the squabble that had erupted between them. His stare was enough to make them all look slightly uncomfortable from where he stood motionless on the floor, the only movement coming from the shifting of his eyes as he looked between his four sons.

"This girl is the reason that Leonardo is still with us," he said briskly, tail swishing slightly around his feet. "We cannot allow her to pursue this dangerous path, or she will risk the loss of her own life in her current condition. You know where she is going?"

Donatello nodded. "Yes, sensei."

"Then you must bring her back," spoke the rat. "For you owe her a debt, my son."

Leo's brow hardened almost instantly. "I will bring her back, Master Splinter."

"Then go."

No further words were required for the four brothers to turn on their heels and race out into the maze of sewers that they had come to know so well. More time had been wasted in argument than was needed to accomplish the task they had set out to do, which was the only reason that Master Splinter had stepped in to guide them when he had. He hated to think of what untold dangers the girl was heading into, and the reasons for doing so eluded him as well. But if his sons were to work together and act quickly then there was still a chance that they could prevent further harm from coming to her and thus hopefully allow for her to be returned to their care until she was fit enough to leave once more. But they would have to hurry. There wouldn't be a much time to waste.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello everyone! I'm really pleased to see that there are some new people reading this story! I've gotten a couple of notifications since my last update and I'm thrilled to know that there are some interested people out there in my work. I've gotten the latest chapter up and running, and I'm hoping there will only be a few more chapters to this story. I know it seems rather short, but I don't want to drag it on when I have a million more ideas running in my head for what adventure will come next. Please leave me a review if you have time. I'd love to hear your thoughts!  
**

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**Chapter Ten**

_Damn it, why don't I have the strength to heal this?!_

Destiny growled softly in frustration as she tugged at the shirt she had found within the offices of the docks, having turned the piece of clothing into a makeshift bandage that could be wrapped around her side to hold her ribs in place. It wasn't exactly her brightest plan, and part of her wished that she hadn't fled from the lair so quickly as to cause herself more pain, but there hadn't been a choice. Had she waited any longer than the distance between herself and the turtles would have been far less than it was, for she was sure that they were going to follow her as soon as they realized that she had disappeared. Leonardo was not going to take too kindly to the fact that she had vanished on him after having been unconscious for almost twenty-four hours.

She grit her teeth tightly as she moved between the large metal crates that lined the docks, careful to keep one hand stretched outward that might continue to guide her forward in the darkness. With such little lighting, she couldn't be sure of where the crates ended anymore, and the last thing she needed was to risk premature exposure to any other figures lurking about in the shadows that night. There would be enough of those to contend with shortly. She had no idea of how many men were expected to be there to take the shipment, but Destiny was pretty sure that it wouldn't be a one man job.

Not that she could handle even one right now.

She could hear the quiet bickering of voices in the distance, and she could only assume that that was the direction she needed to go in. Recent experience told her that the Purple Dragons were not exactly the most subtle people in the crime world, but they certainly weren't entirely stupid either. Very slowly, as her fingers found the edge of another container and the light began to shine from the other side, Destiny turned her head until she could catch a glance of what awaited her. Sure enough, there was a crowd of brutish looking men who all hustled to remove the chemicals from their metal container, each one carrying a large metal bin with the gleaming bio-hazard sign on the outside. But now that she had found them, what was she going to do about it?

In her haste to get to the docks the young woman had been forced to use the bottom part of the shirt that she had stolen to create a make-shift mask to place across her face. Now that Hun and most of his minions had had a look at her when she had tried to stop them in the park her identity was at risk. The instant they realized who she was they would know just how much damage had already been done to her body, and they would surely take advantage of it. After all, she'd embarrassed him enough for one lifetime.

"Well, I guess it's now or never," she muttered.

"Why don't we save you the entrance?"

Before Destiny had a chance to move she could feel the sharp slam of an arm come down across her chest, crushing her up against the side of the metal container and removing the air from her lungs. Her knees threatened to buckle beneath her before she was caught, two sets of arms reaching forward to grab her before she could fall completely. But it was the cold chuckle of a nearby body that told her she wasn't in friendly company as they dragged her around the corner and into the dim light that flooded from the active area.

"Hey boss, look what I found lurking around in the shadows!"

Despite the effort she put into struggling against their hold, Destiny found that she got herself no further as she attempted to escape. She should have been paying better attention to what was going on around her. Of course they would have a guard who wandered around in case someone like her decided to barge in on their theft. They would have been prepared for the arrival of the Hunter, since she had practically been stalking them in the hopes of bringing the entire organization down. And of course, in her weakened state, Destiny had walked right into their hands without a prayer of being able to shake them off of her. Each twist and tug was a futile effort, resulting only in a new pain that shot up her side and yanked at the tender spots of her skin that were already beaten from her last encounter with the Purple Dragons.

But as they tugged her forward and into the sea of men, Destiny came to realize that it wasn't just the Purple Dragon organization who stood on the docks that night. There were others among them, men concealed within black material and masks that eerily resembled the ninja she had so often read about in books. Damn, if this wasn't the Foot clan, she didn't know what it was.

And that could mean only one thing.

"It would seem that the Hunter decided to make an appearance tonight after all."

At the end of the crowd stood a figure that she had never before laid eyes on. His entire body was covered with a suit of metal that reflected the bright beams of moonlight as the clouds parted in the sky to let them shine forth, illuminating the docks a little more as men hurried in and out of a large shipping container in an effort to empty it of its contents. But the design of the suit was not something that came from the modern era at all. Instead it looked as if it should have stood in a museum as part of a Japanese display, a design so old that she hardly though it to be useful in this time period. But considering the material of which it was made, one could only assume that it served some sort of purpose to still be worn. Though why his face was covered with the same metallic substance was anybody's guess.

"You know me," she stated mockingly, trying to ignore the pains in her body. "I'd hate to disappoint anyone by not showing up."

Her wise-ass comment was not well received by her audience. Another sharp twist to her arm was enough to make the girl cry through grit teeth before she was forced to her knees before the masked leader. But it was another who stepped forward and leered down at her with a look of great satisfaction. Breathing a little heavier the vigilante looked up at the hulking shadow that loomed above and saw the familiar face of Hun, wearing a grin that instantly caused her skin to crawl.

"We meet again, Hunter," he announced smugly.

"Oh, Hunny-Bear," mocked the girl. "You didn't think I'd forget to say hello, did you?"

His smirk vanished at being addressed so. In response he lifted one of his massive feet and planted it firmly into her stomach, once more knocking the wind clear from her lungs and leaving her to cough and sputter on the ground for only a moment before she was once again pulled upright and restrained by two of his thugs. But that wasn't enough punishment for her yet. He seized her chin roughly in one of his meaty hands and lifted it upward so that he could better look at the masked visage of the vigilante who had caused him so much trouble over the past few months. Now he could finally bring it all to an end and prevent her from ever meddling in his business again. The Hunter's days had come to an end.

"Wait."

The unexpected order caused Hun to pause and turn to look over at his employer, teeth grit in annoyance at being delayed in ending her life. All it would have taken was a swift turn of his wrist and she would have forever been stopped from ever interfering again. But there seemed to be another plan in mind, as the metallic form motioned for his men to continue their work and slowly moved himself forward until he stood just above Destiny's immobile form.

"Remove the mask," he ordered. "Let us see the true face of this vigilante."

Though his displeasure was clearly written upon his face, Hun did not argue. The hand that had been holding her chin released its hold and instead fixed itself around the material of the mask that she had so hastily thrown together. In one sharp movement it was ripped away, leaving her face to be completely exposed to their eyes. And in that moment, she could hear Hun growl darkly when he came to recognize the face that lay beneath the disguise.

"You."

Lifting her head just a little, Destiny laughed weakly. "Me."

There was no need to guess at his displeasure. His voice absolutely dripped with the disgust that he felt when he looked at her and realized just who it was that had been dragged before him. No doubt he would remember the young woman who had interrupted his men in the park only the other day, which in turn meant that he would recall the beating that he had inflicted upon her. So when the tight lipped grin appeared on his face, Destiny knew exactly what it was that he was thinking about. He was thinking about the damage that had been done; how easily she had been captured that night without the same fuss that she had previously caused when she had come to stop their nightly activities.

He knew of her weakness.

"Well, Little Hunter," he sneered, reaching down to wrap his beefy hand around her throat and lift her slowly from the ground. "I suppose I should take this as a sign. You're meant to die by my hand after all."

Gasping for air the girl lifted her hands to try and pry his fingers away from her throat, struggling in his grip as much as she could manage in her already tired state. But as her feet slowly left the ground she had nothing else to support herself with as Hun continued his assault on her windpipe, causing her head to begin swimming as her vision slowly flickered in and out. A few more moments of this and he would certainly bring an end to the life of the person who had plagued him for the last several months. There was nothing to stop him. Her powers were not working, she had no energy to shake him off of her.

This appeared to be the end of the Hunter. Never again would she wander the streets of New York by night to lend a hand where she could. The whispers about her mysterious appearances would come to an end and soon the city would forget that such a person had ever existed. She would once again be a speck of dust on the face of the earth.

"SHREDDER!"

Alarmed by the sudden cry from above, Hun released his hold on Destiny so quickly that she barely felt the time between his release and hitting the cold pavement below. She wheezed loudly as the air rushed back into her lungs and the sharp pain radiated from her side once more, alerting her body to the fact that she was somehow still alive after being so quickly captured. With her head still swimming and her vision unfocused Destiny attempted to lift her head to see where the voice had come from, only to smile weakly as she came to recognize the faint outlines of four bodies standing on some of the shipping containers around the dock. They had managed to catch up to her after all, she thought to herself.

Oh boy, was she in for it now.

"Ahh," came the metallic sound of his voice. "The turtles. Have you come to watch your friend die?"

Before she knew what was happening Destiny felt someone yank her upward into a weak standing position, pressing her back against the sharp edges of the Shredder's suit as they twisted an arm behind her and placed something else firmly against her throat. It didn't take a genius to know that it was the blade of a knife that they pressed against her skin, making it hard for the girl to breathe after her near-death ordeal with Hun. But the harsh way in which her arm had been wrenched behind her was enough to make the girl cry out in pain as she felt her shoulder pop out of place. The only reason she remained standing was because most of her weight was currently being held up by the masked maniac in metal. And he certainly wasn't being gentle with her.

"Let her go!" Raph warned with his dark growl. "Your fight is with us!"

"We're only going to warn you once," Leo added in the same fearsome tone.

The pressure against her throat increased and forced Destiny to try and turn her head away, only to be met with an immovable object that instantly brought her escape to a halt. Through grit teeth she cried out, still trying to pry herself away from the clutches of the Shredder, but the demon held her fast and refused to give her even an inch of space that she might somehow use against him. Weak as she was though, she could still feel the nervous and angry energies that emanated from the four turtles atop the containers, screaming at her and struggling to be the dominant emotion that she felt.

It was Donatello who held the most concern, clearly afraid of the damage being done to her body when she was already operating well below average. Already he was thinking of an escape plan for if and when they were able to extract her successfully. From Michelangelo came a more nervous feeling as she felt him observing the number of men who stood below and in the spaces between them. He knew that the coming battle was not going to be an easy one. There were easily ten bodies for each of the brothers to combat, not including those who continued to steal from the shipping containers and disappear into the shadows.

But never before had Destiny felt so much hate and anger as what she knew was radiating between Leonardo and Raphael, both of whom stood with increased tension and glared down at the lone figure who taunted them with the blade that danced along her skin. Even as she searched their minds with the little strength that she had, Destiny could find no trace of anything else. Granted, she wasn't able to get very far before her abilities reached their limit, but for the first time in a very long time she found herself to be a little frightened of the dangerous emotions affixed in her direction. Though she was not the target of them, it still made her incredibly uneasy. A single misstep was all it would take to get them hurt…or worse.

The Shredder's cold laugh of amusement rang loudly in her ears. "It would seem that you are incredibly popular tonight, my dear," he said to her, though his eyes never once left the turtles. "What a shame that you will have to die."

She had to do something now. Her time had run out and in the next few seconds the blade was sure to be pulled sharply across her throat and forever end her life before any of the turtles could even think of jumping down to try and save her. There was only one person who could potentially get her out of this mess…and she might not have the strength to do anything else after she did. It might all be for naught.

But she had to try, she told herself quickly. "Not today, Shredder."

Closing her eyes and focusing hard, Destiny summoned what little energy she still had to gather together in the core of her body. For a moment she could feel it all surging to the desired spot, coming together with a warm tingle that reached down to the pit of her stomach and the ends of her toes. And with a cry that ripped through her throat she released the energy in all directions and sent those who surrounded her flying backward against the closest objects, namely each other and the shipping containers scattered about the dock. The knife fell away from her throat and the Shredder was forced back nearly ten feet, but somehow managed to remain upright as his arms came to protect his face and shield his eyes from the brightness of the light that also emitted from her body.

The problem now was that she was barely able to remain on her own feet, for as soon as the energy left her body she was left in a much weaker state than before. Her pathetic attempt at fleeing the scene only brought her forward a few steps until she stumbled and fell against a nearby piece of equipment for support, struggling to escape while the others began to shake off the shock of her attack and get to their feet once more.

"DES!"

With only one arm that she could use to support herself and vision that was not serving her well, she couldn't be too sure where the enemy was and how close they were getting to her. But it was Leonardo's call that brought some of her senses back into a workable mode as she turned herself around and pressed her back firmly against the edge of a shipping container. He sounded like he was still above her, though she doubted that he would remain so for too long. There was a clashing of metal somewhere in front of her, a sure sign that the fighting had begun…but were they going to be a match for the forces that surrounded the docks that night? There were Purple Dragon and Foot Ninja both in attendance, never mind the ruling presence of the Shredder who had seemed rather sure of himself when the turtles had appeared. And since she had foolishly allowed herself to be caught like that she wasn't going to be of much use in the fighting. All she could do was pray that her vision would shortly clear and the four brothers would be alright.

Cursing her own stupidity under her breath Destiny blinked several times in rapid succession, each time finding that her eyes were slowly returning to their original state of sight. Things were certainly not looking all that good as the number of bodies pressing against the turtles grew with every blink, but she could no longer see the Shredder or Hun within the chaos, which could only mean that the two of them had fled to secure the chemicals they had come to steal. The rest was pure distraction, a way of keeping their enemy occupied while they snuck away unharmed. And it seemed that their tactic was working well, for as she slowly looked around her she realized that all four of the brothers were far too busy fighting with the men who attacked them to pay attention to much else that might have been going on.

A wild cry caught her attention and caused her head to snap around quickly, spotting a Purple Dragon who came charging at her from within the fray, his hand raised high as he clenched a pipe tightly within his fist. For a moment she felt nothing but panic. He ran at her so quickly that she barely had time to push herself away from the edge of the container and roll painfully on the ground to avoid having the weight of the pipe come down on her head. But when the man realized that he had missed her he was quick to pick it up and raise the weapon again, knowing that there was no place else for her to turn and run. He had her cornered and he knew it.

But the blow never came. With a shift in his weight the man began to bring the pipe down as if to strike and suddenly found his way blocked by a turtle of dark green who caught the swing by crossing his sais together and pushing as hard as he could in retaliation. Before he knew what was happening, the man who might have ended her life was sent flying backward and stopped only when he made contact with another body.

"Come here, kid."

With the same speed that had brought him to save her, Raphael dropped his sais back into the belt he wore at his waist and scooped Destiny up into his arms, looking slightly apologetic when she hissed in pain at having her one arm dangle uselessly by her side. She couldn't feel the tips of her fingers very well, a sure sign that it had likely been dislocated by the rough handling of the Shredder, but she reached out with her better hand and pulled it securely into her body despite the terrible pain that shot into her shoulder as a result. With nothing more that she could do, she allowed herself to fall firmly against Raphael's chest and become as small as possible while he looked around him at the other three brothers.

"I got her, let's go!"

Nobody needed to be told twice it seemed. Raph took off running as soon as he had delivered his message and Leo was the first to fall in behind him as they hurried toward their destination. Somewhere along the journey they were joined by both Donatello and Michelangelo, the latter of whom made his presence known by getting up ahead of them and giving her a cheeky little wave and a wink in greeting. She dared not respond as soon as she felt the vibes of anger that radiated from Leonardo, but instead focused on keeping herself alert as they made their twists and turns through the docks. Some of the sharp movements were beginning to affect her, leaving the girl a little dizzy when Raph leapt from the ground with her still held tightly in his arms and landed somewhere else to continue his running.

After what seemed like eternity they came to a momentary stop. "You might want to close your eyes," Raph told her, glancing at her with a bit of a frown. "With how beat up you are, you're not gonna like this."

Destiny was about to question him when she heard the sound of metal scrapping against the ground and looked down to see exactly what it was that Raphael was talking about. Donatello pulled the man hole cover aside to reveal the traditional way of regaining entrance to the sewers, looking around him nervously to ensure that they were not being watched.

"We have to hurry," he said, turning his eyes to the direction from which they had just come. "We're still being chased."

Leo dropped down first, followed by Mikey…which left Raph to follow next so that Don could close up their escape route behind them. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Destiny did as instructed and closed her eyes as she turned her face even more into his chest. Oh boy, did she have a really bad feeling about this…


	11. Chapter 11

**Here's another chapter to keep everyone interested! Please let me know what you think when you finish reading! I'd love to hear your thoughts!**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

"Damn it, Destiny, what the shell were you thinking?"

There was no denying the fact that Leo was angry. Even as Raph carried her through the last bit of the sewer line and into the lair where Master Splinter was waiting for them he continued to stick close behind her, his anger radiating so brightly that she could feel it even in her weaker state. Her head was still swimming from the insane ride back down into the sewers that she had just endured, and so she lay heavily in Raphael's arms as she tried to find a steady rhythm for her breathing once again.

"I was thinking that I'd just figure out who they were working for and why they wanted the chemicals, Leo," she grunted as another wave of nausea set in and forced her to close her eyes. "I didn't plan on being caught."

"They were going to kill you."

"Gee, thanks for the update. I had no idea."

She could hear a rather loud crunch sound from somewhere behind her, and she could only assume that Leonardo had reached out to punch a wall or something in his frustration. But the sound was enough for Raph to quicken his steps just a little until they were safely inside the confines of the lair once more, a fact which was only given away by the sudden change in the sound that his steps made as he walked from the wet pipes of the sewer and onto the dry tile that made up the floor of their home. To say that she was relieved at being back on solid ground again was a massive understatement considering the theme park style waterslide that the turtles had taken to return to their underground haven. They hadn't been kidding when they said she would feel uncomfortable on the way down. Had she been in better health she might have actually enjoyed the trip. As it was however, the entire experience had been filled with a sharp pain that consumed her entire being…though the worse of it had come with the abrupt landing at the end that had caused her to scream out in agony.

A few more steps and Raphael came to a halt, gently setting her not on the couch as she had expected but on top of a much harder surface that she could only assume was a table. Very slowly did the young woman open her eyes and wait a few breaths before everything slid back into focus. She shifted her body only slightly as she felt someone slid up behind her and offer their stronger frame for her to lean back again, but she accepted the offer rather gratefully as Donatello appeared before her and slowly began to assess the new wounds that she had earned that evening. A slight turn of her head revealed that Michelangelo was hurrying off in another direction, but Leonardo was leaning heavily against the counter top that stood nearby, glaring heavily in her direction to further demonstrate his anger and disapproval.

That meant that Raphael was the one she rested against now, still hovering about like a worried mother hen.

"So Doctor, what's the diagnosis?" she asked weakly, a soft hiss following her sarcastic question as Donnie picked up her one hand in his and started to move her arm.

"You're lucky to be alive," came his matter-of-fact answer. "Shredder dislocated your shoulder. I have to put it back…but it's really going to hurt. Hold her still, Raph."

Before Destiny knew what was happening she could feel a set of strong arms wrap themselves around her waist, pinning the good arm to her side while leaving the other to Donatello's hands. He was a little closer now, her back flush against the front of his shell as he lowered his head onto the working shoulder so as to keep her from moving too much when his brother finally managed to pop her shoulder back into place. He'd gone through the process himself a time or two before because things had gotten a little rough when he had gone topside. It hurt like hell, but he knew that he would have a much easier job of holding her steady than his brothers had ever had in securing _him_.

"Deep breath, kid."

She was only halfway through her breath when Donatello sharply moved her arm and reset the shoulder back in its socket, forcing the air from her lungs as she heaved forward with a bitter cry. Tears sprang from the corners of her eyes though she squeezed them tightly shut, the palm of her good hand flexing and pressing firmly into the table as if that might in some way lessen the pain that she was experiencing in the other half of her body. She could feel someone quickly react to her cry as a hand moved to cover the one that she forced into the surface of the table, the tension growing in Raphael's arms as he held her against him. It seemed that though the pain was for her alone to experience, it somehow still extended to the others who were present in the room.

Donatello apologized quietly for having to do it and then hurried away to grab his medical kit while Raph muttered a gentle reminder to breathe in her ear, slowly releasing the pressure with which he held her. And when at last she opened her eyes to try and blink away her tears, Destiny found that it was Leo who had hurried across the room and slipped his hand atop her own, all traces of his anger now gone and replaced by concern she had seen only once before in his eyes. As the air entered her lungs and her heart rate began to return to a normal pace she gave him a small nod and a weak smile that only touched the corners of her mouth. Only then did he slid his hand away. But his eyes never left her.

With his medical kit in hand, Donnie returned and set it on the table. "You're lucky," he said again as he rummaged through his kit. "They were going to kill you."

"I know," she agreed weakly, allowing herself to fall back again Raphael's chest. "They know who I am. I'm surprised Hun didn't kill me on the spot."

"They know?"

Destiny nodded, turning her head a little so that she could better address Raph directly. "Masks don't do you any good when they've got you pinned down. As soon as they ripped it off Hun knew who I was. I just didn't have the strength to get them off of me this time."

A dark hiss escaped her lips when Donatello started to clean the new cuts that had appeared on her skin. Damn, she must have taken another good beating, she thought to herself as she looked down at the various stains of red that now showed themselves on her arms and legs. Oh yeah, she'd done a good job of getting her butt kicked. Not that she had planned any of it, of course. Going into the park that night had thrown quite a wrench into her original plans and removed the element of surprise she might have had on the docks. So instead of sitting at home now and congratulating herself on getting to the bottom of the situation, she was sitting in the sewers of New York City while a family of turtles tended to her wounds.

Totally normal, right?

"Heads up."

Throwing a wad of cloth over his shoulder for Leo to catch, Donatello continued his work on her limbs. "Make a sling for her arm with that," he instructed his brother. "She really shouldn't use it for a few days."

"She really shouldn't be doing anything at all," Leo muttered as he started to fold the fabric.

Despite herself, Destiny couldn't help but roll her eyes a little. "Thanks _Mom_, I'll take that under advisement."

Raphael chuckled from behind her. "Much as I hate to agree with anything Leo says, he's probably right. Takin' it easy for a couple a' days might not be such a bad idea."

"It would be very wise of you, indeed."

The entire room seemed to come to a stand-still when this new voice joined the conversation, and every pair of eyes instantly turned to look at the aging rat who stood before them with his hands folded behind his back, regarding their patient with a look that Destiny hadn't seen since she had been a child. She couldn't help but feel the tightening in her chest as a result of it, and without realizing that she was doing it the pressure on her good hand returned as the girl attempted to straighten her body a little and expand the distance between herself and the rat. When he felt her moving against him Raphael shifted himself slightly so that she wouldn't find the hilt of his sais roughly pressed against her back. And when he came to realize that she had been trying to distance herself from his sensei, Raph placed a gentle hand upon her knee until she turned her head to look at him with wide eyes and he could nod in assurance.

Seeming to sense her discomfort, Master Splinter smiled softly and took slow, deliberate steps around the table so as not to frighten her further. "You have demonstrated great courage in seeking out the Purple Dragon, but also great foolishness," the old rat told her as he closed the distance between them. "You are in no condition to be roaming the streets of the city above. The injuries that you sustained earlier will have been reopened and forced to begin healing again."

As he said this, he reached out with one clawed hand and began to untie the shirt that she had previously wrapped around her ribs until the sleeves hung loosely and free of their knot. But instead of the white that the shirt had once been, a large stain of red could be seen in the material that had previously been pressed against her wounded side. And when the pressure was removed, Destiny fell forward a little and gasped for air against the hurt that once again thundered in her body as her ribs protested against her need for breath. Out of instinct, Raph pressed a hand against her bloody side to try and stop the flow of red from expanding further, which caused Destiny to straighten sharply and cry out through grit teeth as her good hand quickly crossed her body and pressed into the flesh of Raphael's hand.

That was when the tears appeared. Despite her best efforts to keep herself composed in the midst of her pain, it had finally gotten to be too much and she broken under the pressure that was weighing her entire body down. They leaked from the corners of her closed eyes as the girl struggled to regain her breath – fighting against the tension in her chest that made it almost impossible to regain any sense of control she might have previously had.

When she cried out, Leo instantly abandoned the material that he had been folding into a sling and stepped up to the side of the table with a look of anxiety written plainly across his face. He gripped the edge of the table so tightly in his green hands that the colour started to pale in them at the lack of circulation he was allowing, something he only noticed when he felt the light touch of his sensei's hand on his arm. The two of them shared a look for a moment, Leo's eyes darting back to Destiny for only a second before he turned on his heel and moved out of the room entirely. Mikey's head turned to watch his brother go and he turned sharply as he were meaning to follow his older brother, but a commanding sound from within Splinter's throat stopped him in his tracks.

Instead Michelangelo moved to the fallen piece of material that had been left on the floor when Leo had reacted to her injuries, taking over the duty of folding it into the required sling while Donatello hasted to start attending to the injured side that was causing her so much agony. With gentle fingers did he pry Destiny's hand away from Raphael's, offering his brother a small hand towel to try and erase the red liquid from the palm of his hand before he started to evaluate the work that needed to be done. After a moment of fiddling with the fabric of her shirt, the olive green turtle finally raised his head with an uncertain look upon his face.

"Your shirt," he started uneasily, chewing on his bottom lip. "It's soaked right through and I can't get it to stay out of the way."

"Cut it off."

She couldn't lift it off the way she normally would, her body was too badly bruised and beaten to allow for such a basic movement. But she could see in Don's eyes that he wasn't at all comfortable with the suggestion, and indeed appeared rather shocked by her quick decision. When he hesitated a moment too long, Destiny blinked through her tears and looked directly at him.

"You heard me," she groaned. "Cut it off."

Before another word was spoken, the scissors were out and the shirt was cut away until she was left sitting only in the fabric of her bra, struggling to remain supported on her own lest she make anyone else uncomfortable with her semi-naked state. She lay her useless arm across her lap, wincing slightly at the throbbing she experienced in moving the muscles so quickly after having the shoulder realigned, but the other arm was placed protectively over her chest to help fight off the chill that was already creeping into her body. But once the shirt was out of her way Donatello set to work with a little more swiftness in his hands, pressing damp gauze against the affected areas to sterilize them and remove any risk of infection before he replaced them with dry one that would soak up any other bits of blood that might spill before it started to congeal.

Mikey was always nearby, quietly getting the things that Donatello needed to do his job properly as soon as they were needed. Master Splinter continued to hover, attempting to engage the girl in small conversation that might otherwise preoccupy her mind from the intense discomfort that she was now in.

And Raphael never left her side.

Throughout the entire process he was seated right behind her, wrapping his one arm around her body as he tried to keep her teeth from chattering too badly. And something in the way that he kept so close to her actually made Destiny feel safer about the situation she was in. When she grew stiff and needed to adjust her body he would pull just far enough away so that she could do so before resuming his protective position around her. He barely moved aside from that, and she could feel his warm breath upon her skin as his chest slowly rose and fell behind her. She had never felt so at ease around another person in her life…and yet here she was, in the company of giant turtles and a talking rat…and it felt completely normal.

As he finished securing all of her bandages in place, Donatello looked her over once more before he nodded his approval. "I don't think I can do much more," he said, wiping the back of his hand across his brow. "I'll check on the bandages a few times a day, but the rest of it is up to you."

"Guess that means I can't go out at night for the next little while, huh?" she asked, a weak smile creeping onto her lips.

"That's _exactly_ what it means," chimed Michelangelo with a grin spread across his face. "Because you gotta get better and then you gotta race me around the city!"

Destiny started to laugh to herself, but quickly stopped when she felt the ache in her ribs. Instead she was simply content to smile over at Mikey and his cheeky nature, something she found to be rather endearing in the smallest of the four turtles. Something about the twinkle in his eye really struck a chord with her, as if there were yet another memory that she could attach to it from the past that she was so desperate to forget. And when she caught her gaze lingering for a moment she promptly turned her head away and instead focused on somehow removing her body from the surface of the table. It was a painful process, pushing herself closer to the edge until she could feel her legs dangling off of the edge, but the ground was not far below thanks to her natural height and so despite the protesting sounds that came from Raph the girl pushed herself forward until she could feel something solid beneath the soles of her shoes and allowed herself to part with the support of the table's edge.

She stood for but a moment before her knees gave out and she started crumbling toward the floor, stopped only when all three of the turtles who were present reached out to secure her once more.

"Stop fussing," Destiny told them, casting a glance at each of them in turn.

Raphael rolled his eyes and swiftly moved himself from the table as well, though the arm that had reached out to secure her around her stomach remained in place. "You're too damn stubborn for your own good, kid."

"Look who's talking," muttered Donatello.

The look that Raph shot him must have been a good one, because as soon as Don was sure that Destiny wasn't going to fall and injure herself further he had released her and started packing his kit up again without letting his gaze meet up with his brother's. Mikey on the other hand seemed to get a good chuckle out of the whole affair and remained to help Raph lift Destiny to her feet, securely placing both of his larger hands on her hips until he was absolutely sure that she wasn't going to topple over on them again. It was only when she smirked in his direction and raised an eyebrow that he finally let her go, lifting his hands in mock surrender.

"I already got dibs on a hot news reporter," he told her as he took a step backward and grinned widely at her. "I'll let Raph and Leo fight over you."

His comment caught the entire room off guard. Donatello's eyes grew so wide when he froze that Destiny was sure they might pop right out of his head, and the arm that Raphael still had around her stomach suddenly grew rather tight as he held her. For her part, Destiny could only blink at him with a look of slight disbelief on her face before she let out a bit of a laugh.

"You're just afraid that you couldn't handle me at my best," she joked.

His arm seemed to relax a little as she her smaller one on top of his, patting his green skin reassuringly. She didn't know where Mikey had come up with such a statement, but it had a clear effect on the entire room. Even Master Splinter was currently turning his head to look at his youngest son with an expression that she could not quite read, the only one who remained motionless after she had broken the tension that lingered between them.

Leaving the silent conversation that was likely happening between father and son, Destiny instead turned her attention to the strong body that continued to support her and offered him a small smile. "You can probably let go now," she told him lightly. "I think I'll be fine."

Blinking down at her, Raphael didn't seem entirely convinced. "You just about fell over when you were trying to stand up. What makes ya think-"

"Stubborn, remember?"

The turtle rolled his eyes and moved his arms, lifting her up once more in the same fashion that he had carried her away from the fighting at the docks. A soft yelp escaped her lips as her body froze and her good arm instantly shot up to wrap around his neck out of shock. Once she realized that she was safe, the girl turned her head and glared up at him.

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

Raph shifted his arms. "Takin' ya to the couch."

"I'm quite capable of walking there on my own!"

"No, you're not."

"Put me down, Raphael."

"Nope."

The pair continued to banter back and forth until he had crossed the distance into the living room area and managed to place her lightly onto the couch where she continued to glare up at him for having handled her in such a fashion. Destiny's only dealings with men came during the night time hours, when she wore a mask and a tight body suit that allowed her free movement to kick the crap out of anyone who dared to try and touch her. And yet here was Raphael, a six foot, talking turtle who had found her in a vulnerable position and seemed to be taking advantage of the situation.

"I don't appreciate being man-handled," she warned him as his arms slid away and left her to shift her body into a more comfortable position.

"Tough luck, kid."

"And don't call me 'kid'!"

He scoffed and shook his head, retreating away from the couch and into another area of the lair entirely. She watched him go with narrowed eyes before she finally slumped back into the softer frame of the couch and exhaled sharply. Great…now she was basically a prisoner in the sewers of New York until she actually had the strength she needed to go home and forget that this entire adventure had ever happened in the first place.

But would she be able to forget? How does one return home to their life and ignore the fact that she had been saved by creatures such as them? How could she possibly push aside the fact that those creatures had acted with more human compassion toward her in the time that she had come to know each one of them than half of the regular people who lived within the city limits? The task was nearly impossible – even now she could feel her anger toward Raphael slowly slipping away. But as it did it was replaced with an entirely different emotion that began to bubble in the pit of her stomach and make the girl feel a small wave of nausea.

"Something troubles you, child."

The brunette looked up sharply to find that Master Splinter had appeared before her while she had been consumed in her thoughts, startling her a little as she noted the silent way that he had moved himself across the room. And though she wanted to deny his words immediately she found that the way in which he looked at her instantly forced the denial back down to join the concern and guilt that were weighing heavily upon her heart.

"I'm always troubled by something it would seem."

A soft smile found its way onto the rat's face, a rather curious sight for a girl who had never known such an emotion to show on the face of an animal like that. "But it is not your body that troubles you," he said with sage like wisdom, folding his hands neatly behind his back. "It is something much deeper than physical pain."

Was she really that readable, she wondered? A soft sigh escaped her lips and the girl closed her eyes. "How do you do it?" she asked him. "How do you keep the outside world from making you feel like you shouldn't exist? All I've ever wanted is to belong…but every time I leave my apartment I know that despite everything I do I will _never_ be one of them. I'll never be _normal_."

The rat seemed to regard her words for a moment. "Your gifts are what make you unique," he began slowly. "But they will always separate you from the other humans because you are meant to do so much more than one might think. You are not cursed," Splinter added firmly. "Though you will sometimes feel like you are. On the contrary, you are quite blessed."

"Blessed?" The girl shook her head in disbelief. "I don't even know what I can do! There have been times when I thought that finally my powers had stopped growing, that I was going to be able to rein them all in and make sure I wouldn't hurt anyone. And every time I think I'm closer to being safe something else appears."

As the girl hung her head, Master Splinter fell silent and allowed his senses to analyze the situation before him. He sensed no more danger in this girl than he sensed when he was in the presence of his sons, who also had extraordinary gifts that he had encouraged them to use for the betterment of mankind. Despite knowing that they would be largely unaccepted in the human world above because of their appearance, Splinter was adamant that they had been created for a reason. And he still held onto that thought even now as he looked down upon the human girl who seemed so ashamed of her differences. Very gently, the rat lifted a hand and reached out to touch her chin until she dragged her eyes upward once more to look at him.

"You are blessed," he repeated softly to her, the trace of a smile appearing in the corners of his mouth. "How many lives have you saved because you have been able to heal their wounds when others would have to watch them die?"

Destiny swallowed. She knew without asking that he was referring to Leonardo and the night that the two of them had crossed paths in a way that would forever change their lives. Things had come full circle since that time. She had spared him from being killed by a bullet and he had come to save her when she had foolishly put herself in harm's way in an effort to find out more about the past that haunted her so badly. But she didn't want to tell him the truth of why she had gone out to the docks that night with the injuries she had already sustained, not yet. That was something she needed to keep to herself for a little while longer…at least until she could figure out what to do now that she had failed in her intent.

Before she could stop it, a smile touched her lips. "Thank you."

Master Splinter nodded as he pulled his hand back from her face and placed it once more behind his back. "You should rest now."

It took a moment for her to shift into a comfortable position that did not hurt either her arm or her side, but Destiny finally managed to curl up on the couch that had previously served as her medical bed and close her eyes. In almost no time at all, she had drifted off to sleep. Before he turned to go, Master Splinter retrieved one of the blankets that had been folded up at the opposite end of the couch and laid it gently atop her body to keep out any impending chill that would cause her further discomfort while she slept. All he could do now was warn Michelangelo to keep his voice down so that she could properly rest, and then he would be left to tend to the rest of his family that now seemed rather frazzled with the night's adventure.


	12. Chapter 12

**Here it is! After a bit of a waiting period, here is another chapter to maybe spark some interest again. I'd love to hear what you guys think, so please leave me a review if you can!**

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**Chapter Twelve**

She didn't know how long she had been asleep when she stirred. There were no windows in the lair that might tell her if the sun had started to rise or not, but she knew that she had been out long enough for everyone to have left her to rest on the couch with only a blanket to cover her half naked body. It had taken her a moment of looking down and shivering against the cool temperature of the room to remember that she had told Don to cut it off of her so that he could better access her side and stop the bleeding there. She'd need to replace the bandage soon though. Already she could see touches of red leaking through the gauze that he had taped to her side. But that would also mean having to ask one of the others to help her since her left arm was still resting in a sling after her shoulder had been put back into place. And for the time being it looked like she was completely on her own.

Shrugging the blanket back over her shoulders as best as she could with her good arm, Destiny pinned it down against her chest and slowly removed herself from the couch until she was able to stand on her own two feet. She was a little wobbly at first and had to shift her weight a few times before she could find a balance, but once she started to try and move she found that things were still in working order. She couldn't move too quickly, nor could her steps be as wide as they normally would be either – she was still a little too unsteady to be supporting her weight on one foot for long. But as she slowly began to master the shuffling motion that seemed to work instead she was able to cross the distance of the room until she was standing somewhere near the middle of the room itself.

Dark eyes looked around her in amazement. To think that the brothers had managed to create an entire home for themselves down here was rather incredible. They had so much room compared to the cramped living conditions of the world above, and despite the fact that they had made their home in an older section of the sewer system, she had to wonder if it wasn't cleaner down here as well. It was just amazing to think that an entirely different civilization of sorts had been lurking beneath her feet the entire time and she had never known.

Now she had to decide where she was going to go. The center of the room offered her a few different options in that regard, but there was one place that really caught her eye and struck a chord of familiarity in the young woman as soon as she saw it. It was the very same hallway down which Leo had disappeared earlier that night when things had gotten a little tense in the living area. He had been rather mad at her for running off to the docks like that, but he had quickly vanished from sight when it came time for Donatello to reset the shoulder that had been dislocated during the scuffle with the Shredder and his men. It was funny though, he hadn't struck her as being the squeamish type when she had initially met him.

Either way though, she felt the need to find him and at least talk to him about the events that had unfolded that night. Something just wasn't sitting right with her – she needed to talk it through. And of the four brothers who were likely to be sleeping at this point, he was the only one that she knew well enough to talk to.

No way was she talking to the rat.

So down the hallway she started, letting her steps remain slow and small until she could reach out to the wall with her good hand and use that as a means of supporting her unsteady legs. There were only two rooms in this hallway, a curtain separating each for the sake of privacy. At the first one she paused against the outside edge of the wall and tilted her head, listening for any sounds that might betray who was currently on the other side. But when she heard nothing, a thought struck her and the girl instead turned her attention to the colour of the curtain and began to connect the dots in her mind. If the deep purple colour was a sign of anything, it was Donatello who slumbered inside that room, and she certainly didn't want to bother him after all that he had done for her that night.

But as she turned to look at the other room, she saw that the curtain was of the same shade of blue as the mask that Leonardo had been wearing each time they crossed paths. He had to be in there, she decided, though she would regret waking him if he had fallen asleep. He had been the first to leave the room that night, and she hadn't seen him in the hours that had followed. Clearly, there had been some discontent between the pair…and if she could, she wanted to try and remedy that. After all, he and his brothers had saved her life that night when it would have been easy enough for them to leave her for dead and save themselves the grief of potentially being exposed.

Breathing slowly to try and keep her pain under control, the brunette shuffled on down the hallway until she found herself just outside of his bedroom door, pausing again to listen. He was definitely still awake, she could hear him grumbling to himself in a tone that was inaudible to her from the other side of the curtain. But now that she was there, her courage was beginning to fail her. What if he was still too angry to speak to her? What if he blamed her for putting all of their lives in danger? Or worse yet, what if he hadn't wanted to save her?

"Leo?"

The word was free from her lips before she had a chance to turn around and change her mind, but the sounds from behind the curtain instantly stopped. In less than three seconds the blue fabric was pushed aside and the turtle was in the doorway. But instead of the anger that she had half expected to see she was instead confronted by a look that already spoke volumes of the concern that he felt in seeing her standing outside of his bedroom.

"Are you crazy?" he demanded, his hands shooting out gently pull her body toward him so that he could support her weight with his own. "What the shell are you doing on your feet? You should be resting!"

The palm of her good hand pressed against his chest as she tried to regain her balance. "I needed to talk to you," she insisted quietly. "About night-"

The turtle cut her off by gently moving his arms, slipping one beneath the back of her knees and the other around the middle of her back so that he could lift her from the ground and remove the pressure that she had placed upon her feet. A soft gasp fluttered from her lips as she felt the air appear beneath her and her body curled inward to rest against Leonardo's chest, but she winched almost immediately as she felt the tug on her side and the ripping of the skin. Teeth bit down tightly on her lower lip and eyes closed against the painful reminder of her folly from the night before, and deep breaths were taken to try and ease her body down from the agony that she could feel coursing through her side. Damn, did it hurt though. And without the strength to even at least partly heal herself of the injury she could do nothing more than take a deep breath and hope for the best.

Before she could tell him no, however, Leo had taken her back beyond and curtain and into the small space that he called his own and set her gently down on the stack of mattresses that sat in the corner of the room. Every movement that he made with her body was slow and deliberate, a clear indication that he was doing his best not to hurt her any further as he moved to place her inside the room. As soon as she was secured in a sitting position on the edge she could feel the soft touch of his hand pulling the blanket away from her shoulders, his eyes looking her over until they came to rest on the bloody gauze that was still attached to the side of her body. Wordlessly he moved himself away and crossed the room to the neatly kept table on the other side, picking up a small box in his hand before he came back and knelt down before her.

It didn't take long for her to realize that it was a smaller and simpler version of the kit that Donatello had produced earlier. He was already beginning to pull out the same items; a piece of gauze, more medical tape and a few alcohol wipes that were definitely going to sting like hell when he touched them to her skin. She couldn't help but grimace at the thought, something that Leo took immediate note of.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she hesitated, reaching across her body with her good hand to slowly draw her other arm out of his way. "I just know that this is going to hurt."

The turtle nodded. "Sorry about that."

"Why?" asked the brunette, raising an eyebrow in his direction. "It's not like you did it."

She hissed when he pulled the tape away from her skin and peeled the gauze from her wound, feeling the resistance that had built up as the blood stuck everything together. Even when she closed her eyes she could sense his regret at being the one who had spotted the bloody bandage, something he was clearly hoping to have avoided. But his sense of guilt was what had prompted him to look and prevented him from turning away once he had seen it. Even in her beaten condition she could read that much of his mind, gently prodding at the thoughts that had taken control of his consciousness.

It should have been a simple task, really. Remove and dispose of the soiled bandage, remove the dried blood from the outside edges with an alcohol wipe and recover it with a new piece of gauze. But it seemed to Destiny that Leo was spending a little more time tending to it than even Donatello had done earlier in the night with all of the other broken parts of her body that he had tried his best to fix. And that struck her as being a little odd.

Lightly, she touched her teeth to her lower lip in hesitation. "I'm sorry that I snapped at you earlier," she started. "You were only trying to help."

But he seemed almost to shrug off her apology as he continued to busy himself with the open wound on her left side. "You're hardly the first person to snap at me. Raph does it almost every day."

"That doesn't make it right," Destiny insisted. At the first touch of the cold wipe to her skin she groaned and her body tensed a little. "And I'm not going to use this," she nodded to his hands. "As an excuse."

"Don't worry about it."

His nonchalance at the matter was almost unsettling to the young woman, who found that even as she continued to look down at him he seemed rather intent on avoiding any form of eye contact all-together. Had she really put such a rift between them by going after the Purple Dragons that night? Sure, things hadn't exactly gone according to plan…or was he angry that she had known about Michelangelo and not said anything about it? It seemed that she had somehow become connected to each of the four brothers without knowing it and thus exposed their secret to the eyes of a human. She couldn't really blame him for worrying about that. The world that they lived in made sure that there was no shortage of people who might expose the four turtles and their sensei to the human population in the hopes of making money off of their existence. And that was the sad truth of the society that she had become a part of. If there was a way of using another human being or creature for monetary gain, the opportunity was usually taken.

"Leo…"

Silently he pressed the gauze to her skin and started to rip at the tape with his teeth until it came apart in the pieces that he desired, laying each one along an edge of the porous white fabric to hold it in place. But still he did not look at her. And when he removed his hands from her side and turned his head away to begin packing the medical kit up again, Destiny reacted to an impulse that had been screaming in her head for the last several minutes. The reach was a little more awkward than she had intended as she reached across her body with her right hand, but the pads of her fingertips still managed to find his cheek and caused the turtle to freeze for a moment before he slowly turned his head back to look at her for the first time since bringing her into the room.

What she saw immediately caught her off guard though. It wasn't an expression of anger that stared back at her, something that she might have handled better because of her expectation at seeing it there. Nor was it fear at being so close to someone who, in theory, could cause him and his family a great deal of harm. Instead the brunette found that her chest seemed to tighten with guilt as she read the hurt behind the dark orbs of his eyes, a sadness that almost overwhelmed her at a single glance. The shock of seeing him so upset was almost enough to make her recoil, but she knew that he might read that as something else entirely and so forced her hand to stay locked where it was against the soft flesh of his cheek.

"Talk to me."

She took great care in keeping her voice soft. His walls of defense were slowly beginning to come down the longer he knelt by the edge of the bed with her fingers against his cheek, and she knew that the slightest of things would put them right back into place again if she wasn't careful. It was something between curiosity and concern that kept her pushing forward like this, moving at a glacial pace with the constant risk of going back to square one always looming over her head.

A heavy sigh left the turtle's lips, his head dropping just enough that he no longer held her gaze. But his hand slowly moved up, pressing lightly against her own until he held the palm of her hand completely against the side of his face. "I almost lost you," he murmured. "And there was nothing I could do about it."

Destiny gave her head a little bit of a shake. "Oh, Leo…you're not still worried about that night, are you?" she asked him, feeling her face fall a little. "We've been over this already. You don't owe me anything. I'm not your responsibility."

"But you are!" Leonardo insisted, his head shooting upward to look at her with an intensity that almost made her feel uncomfortable beneath his gaze. "Despite everything you say to try and persuade me otherwise, I can't help but feel this obligation to try and keep you safe. You knew the truth about me, but you kept that secret to yourself. You found Mikey but you never betrayed his existence to anyone else, including me."

The tension in his fingers grew around her hand for a moment, pinning her flesh to his own. "I've never come to trust another person so quickly in my life," he continued slowly. "Maybe that's because of where I was raised…I don't know. And I've never…"

He trailed off, and again he dropped his gaze as if he had given up on the idea entirely. He slowly released her hand from his grasp and pulled back until there was a distance that she could not reach across her body. For a moment Destiny waited, hoping he might perhaps finish his sentence…until a thought struck her. Could the answer really be so simple though? Without room to debate the girl knew that time was running precariously short for her to find the answer before Leo withdrew into himself again and forever left the lingering question between them. With her good arm and the strength in her legs she managed to slowly turn herself until she could slide her body off of the bed completely and come to a standing position beside him, reaching down to nudge his chin upward with her fingers. Only when she succeeded in recapturing his gaze once more did she speak.

"You've never had a friend, have you?"

It seemed like such a simple thing, but she supposed that it was difficult to make friends when you were a six-foot turtle who lived in the sewers of New York City. He was constantly surrounded by his sensei and his three brothers, all of whom had been permanent fixtures in his life since the events that had brought them into their currently situation. It wasn't like they often entertained visitors, least of all humans from the surface above. And it was the flicker in his eye that told the truth when words seemed to fail him, bringing a small smile to the lips of girl who shifted her hand until she could brush trace one of her smaller fingers along his jawline.

"Well, you have one now," came her soft assurance from behind the smile. "And I don't plan on going anywhere for a while, okay? I will be here, day or night, if ever you need to talk."

It didn't take a genius to see that Leonardo was trying to mask the various emotions that were swimming madly in his head, though the small sink in his shoulders did betray a small level of relief. For reasons she didn't understand he acted as if the weight of the entire world rested squarely on his shoulders, a burden that he alone would have to carry in order to prove himself as being a worthy leader. Or perhaps it was a desire to find purpose in life that drove him. She did not yet know him well enough to judge…but she hoped to. Something within him reminded her so much of herself that it was almost frightening, and if she were able to help him to accept the things in this world that he could not change then perhaps she might find her own self-worth as well.

Maybe this was her chance to do something good.

"You're not as alone as you think you are. I promise."

He wrapped his arms around her hips so quickly that Destiny barely had time to blink before she felt the pull that momentarily made her unsteady on her feet. Though many of the bruises on her body certainly felt this new pressure, she noticed that he wasn't holding her tightly enough to cause any pain to the other injures she had sustained. But he was still clinging to her in a way, holding her close enough to feel the warmth of her skin against his own as he buried his face against her stomach. It was the only warm contact that she had on her upper body now, the blanket that she had brought with her having been long ago discarded so that he could replace the bandage on her side. Neither of them was concerned with her semi-naked state though. There were other, more pressing issues that they needed to confront before the night was over.

But perhaps not. Leo had not yet offered any form of verbal response to her earlier statement, but continued to keep a hold on her body and let the situation sink slowly into his consciousness. And for her part, Destiny was not interested in pushing the issue. Instead the girl touched her free hand to the back of his shoulder and lightly moved it up and down in a soothing gesture. The reaction was almost instant. Much of the tension that he was carrying in his shoulders began to fade as the seconds passed and his arms began to loosen from around her hips as well.

Then at last, a soft sigh sounded from him and the turtle began to lift his head. "People come and go so often from this world," came the first few words, spoken so softly that she could have easily missed them. "Very few would understand ours if they were to enter into it. I guess…I guess that with everything that has happened over the last little while, I thought maybe I was starting to find a piece of myself in a different kind of world, you know? A world that I've had to watch from a distance my whole life."

Resting back on his heels, Leonardo began to rub at his tired eyes. "Being around you gives me that freedom…to just be me. No major responsibilities, no expectations…and you don't look at me like I'm some kind of dangerous monster that might go on a rampage at any moment. To you, I'm just…just…me."

She couldn't help but blink at him. "Leo, there is more humanity in you than in most of the people that I have come across in my lifetime. Just because you don't look like me doesn't mean anything."

Silence filtered in between the two of them for a moment as they continued to stare at one another, hardly daring to believe the turn that their conversation had taken. Here he had confessed to just wanting something that made him feel normal, and she was willing to grant him exactly that without asking for anything in return. Was anything in life really that simple without a risk of something going wrong? Though the thought made his stomach a little sick, Leo had to believe in the best. It was all he really had these days. If he couldn't hold onto some tiny sliver of hope that things might one day change for his family then he feared he might go mad under the strain of wanting to prove himself a worthy leader for his brothers.

And now that she had unexpectedly entered his life, he had a feeling that things would never be the same for any of them again.

Finally Leonardo gave his head a little bit of a shake, pushing his exhausted frame to his feet to busy himself with the task of putting the first aid kit away in its proper place once more. And when he turned back to see Destiny leaning against the side of the bed for support, he could have kicked himself right then and there for having been so foolish. He crossed the room in two large strides and retrieved the blanket that had previously covered her body, draping it around her shoulders once more to push away the chill that was beginning to creep over her flesh. Then, as gently as he could manage, Leo once again lifted her into his arms so that her legs would be spared of having to keep her upright.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"You'll be a lot more comfortable on the couch," he explained as he started for the curtained door.

"You mean it won't raise an alarm if the others wake up and I'm suddenly not there, right?"

He chuckled a little. "Yeah, that too. Donnie would be furious if he thought you'd gone off on your own again."

Destiny let out a dramatic sigh. "Then I suppose I'll just have to stay here and out of trouble."

"Well, I don't know about that," Leo confessed as he turned at the end of the hallway and aimed for the couch in the living room. "If Mikey has his way, I'm sure he'll find something for you to get caught up in again."

"And what about Raphael?"

Pausing in front of the couch, Leo seemed to deeply consider the otherwise playful question for a moment before he came to realize that he was standing still and slowly lowered her body onto the cushions of the couch. "I don't know. I feel like there's something going on with him that he's not telling us about."

"Maybe he just needs a little time."

She did not yet know anything about Raphael compared to his brothers, aside from the obvious fact that he had been the one to bring her away from the park that night and that it was his face she had first seen after waking up. Even at the docks, something about the way he came so quickly to her side gave the girl reason to believe that Leo was right in his assumption, but she didn't dare to tell him so. There had been enough drama and adventure over the past fourty-eight hours for them to deal with, she didn't want to add anything further to the pot. If in fact there was something Raphael was keeping hidden, perhaps she would be able to talk to him the same way she had spoken to his brother. But she had a stronger connection with Leo, she thought to herself. Maybe she wouldn't get that lucky with Raphael.

"Try not to worry too much about it," Destiny suggested to him, shifting herself into a slightly more comfortable position on the couch. "You can't do anything about it until he's ready to talk. And maybe he won't be ready in the near future, we don't know. All we can do is be there for him when he is."

God this felt strange. Where did all of this feeling suddenly come from? She had spent so much time surviving on her own, shutting out emotional connections to people…and yet here she was, sitting in an underground lair while she had a conversation with a giant turtle whom she called a friend. It was like the last ten years of her life had been undone in a single night. The night that she and Leo had crossed paths as stranger for the very last time…

Leo nodded. "You should get some rest. You've had a rough couple of days."

"Physically, maybe," she said, narrowing her eyes just a little. "But I don't think I'm the one who has suffered the worst…at least mentally."

Damn, was he really that readable? "Perhaps," he acknowledged. He paused. "Get some rest."

Turning on his heel, Leo started back toward the hallway and toward the safety of his room. But just as he reached the beginning of the corridor, he felt a gentle tingle in his hand, and a voice register in his ear.

'_Be not afraid of greatness.'_

He turned sharply back to look at her, but saw nothing aside from the back of the couch. She must have made herself comfortable enough, he thought. But where had the sudden quotation come from? He knew it was familiar, and yet his mind could not register where he might have previously heard those words strung together. He'd find it though. The words would torment him until he did. And though he couldn't explain how, he knew it was Destiny's voice that rang in his ear, though it was impossible for her soft whisper to have reached him from that distance with such clarity. Still…it felt like she was standing right next to him.

Leo looked down at his hand, flexing his fingers a little as the tingling sensation slowly melted away. If he hadn't been paying any attention, he could have sworn that someone had taken hold of his hand for a moment there. But again, that was impossible when you were standing in the middle of the room without another person around you.

Wasn't it?


	13. Chapter 13

**I know it's been about a month since I last updated, but here is another chapter that will help move things along. Please review when you're finished reading! 3  
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**Chapter Thirteen**

The following day was rather quiet around the lair. Raphael did not wake early to go and train in the dojo, Michelangelo did not dash to the living room in order to watch his favourite cartoon. Instead of immediately going to his computer station when he woke, Donatello picked up a book that he had been reading and quietly made his way to the armchair in the living room while Leonardo slept in far later than he normally would and didn't appear to his brothers until well after ten o'clock. The normal patterns of behaviour for the four brothers had been disrupted by the presence of the young woman who continued to sleep soundly on their couch, snuggled tightly against the blanket that kept out the chill of the sewers. And though they were all awake, it seemed that each of them was strangely content to do something different with their time that would make as little noise as possible. None of them wanted to be the one that woke her.

Food was quietly taken from the kitchen during the early hours of the morning as they tip-toed around her, constantly coming into the area with one excuse or another so that they could check up on her and see that she was still breathing. Raph and Leo were by far the worst though, Donatello observed from his chair as he peered over the top of his book as their comings and goings. It seemed that almost every hour, despite the fact that he was sitting in the room and keeping an eye on her himself, they were sneaking by to look over the back of the couch, pausing long enough to see the gentle rise and fall of her body with each intake of air. Only then were they satisfied for a short while and continued on their way, only to repeat the process again several times throughout the morning.

And though he wished to comment, Donatello just rolled his eyes and returned to his book.

Finally, at almost two in the afternoon, she began to stir. Her gentle moan was what alerted the purple masked turtle to her conscious state and forced his eyes away from the pages of his book, but he was more than happy to put it aside so that he could lean forward and rest his elbows against his thighs as he watched her wake. She already looked noticeably better, he thought. The bruises on her face had lightened up considerably since the night before, and the cuts that she had been forced to bear looked almost to have scabbed over already. The process was a little too quick for his liking, but he could only assume that it was something else that made the young woman rather unique. He had completely forgotten about her semi-naked state until the blanket slipped from her shoulder and exposed the flesh of her stomach to his eyes, which made Donatello turn his head away in order to preserve a little modesty for her.

"How do you feel?" he asked her quietly, not wanting to startle her or yet alert the others that she was awake.

"Better," she told him, slowly pushing her body into a seated position as she rubbed at her neck with her good hand. "Though I'm feeling really stiff from being on one side all night."

Donatello nodded in understanding. "You look better," he commented, slowly turning his eyes back to her when he saw her shift the blanket around her skin again. "Do you normally heal quickly?"

"For the most part," Destiny said with a small nod of her own. "My ability to heal comes from my own health and energy levels. I can't really heal myself, per-say, but I seem to have a much easier time at it than your average human being."

"But you can heal other people?"

"As long as they're not already dead," she added in a lower tone of voice. "Once they're gone, I can't do anything to help them. But the night that Leo and I met, I was strong enough to make keep him from dying."

"Dying?"

Lifting her head, Destiny blinked at the olive green turtle in confusion. But then came a moment of understanding. Leo hadn't told him about the night that they had met, of course. Why would he when he had spent all of his time up until that point trying to find her and stop her? And considering the situation she had walked into with all four of the brothers seemingly having a connection to her, it wasn't much of a shock to hear the question and the slight twang of fear that crept into Donatello's words.

"It's a long story," she said dismissively, not wanting to worry him over the past. "There was some trouble the night that I met Leo, and when things got worse I knew I couldn't leave him. I guess that's where this whole mess started."

Or at least, where things really started to move forward, she reminded herself. Her calls to Don had happened long before she had met Leonardo, and there was something about Raphael that made her feel a little strange…like he was familiar to her in some way. In reality she knew that meant that Mikey had been the last brother to come into her life, but that only confused her a little more as she continued to think about it. Then again, there had to be some kind of reason for their paths to have crossed, right? Because if the world were a perfect place then neither of them would have existed to begin with, and so this would never have happened.

But in a perfect world, Destiny would have been left to live and long and happy life with her family.

The brunette gave her head a little bit of a shake when she realized that Don was studying her face rather intently, and offered him a small smile to try and set his mind at ease. "It all worked itself out," she assured him. "There's nothing to worry about."

He didn't look entirely convinced, but nor did he continue to pursue the issue, for which Destiny was rather grateful. In her groggy state of mind she was still dealing with a vast amount of discomfort in her body that kept making it harder for her to move, even just to shift her weight back and forth between her hips. At least her face didn't hurt so badly though. Hun had smacked her pretty good the night before, and she had expected to be feeling it when she woke up. Maybe that was one of the first things to start healing. Not that she minded at all, but she would much rather have dealt with the cuts and bruises from the night before than the dislocated shoulder and burning ache that still had control of her left side.

It seemed that the two of them were thinking along the same lines, however, as that was the moment that Donatello rose from his chair and slowly crossed the distance until he was able to kneel down before her, his eyes looking up at her face for silent permission. With a small nod of her head, Destiny released the hold that she had on the blanket covering her upper body and watched as he gently moved it aside to begin examining the bandage. It had been a good thing that Leo had changed it sometime early that morning when they had spoken, because again she could see touches of red seeping through to the other side to demonstrate just how nasty this injury had become. A shiver shot up her spine and caused the girl to straighten a little from the chill, earning her a sheepish look from Donatello.

"Sorry," he murmured.

"It's alright," she responded slowly as her body sank back into a more relaxed state. "It's just cold, that's all."

Nodding in understanding, Don shifted back on his heels a little and picked up the little box of medical supplies that he had already put together for the moment that she woke, having opted not to produce the much larger one for fear of startling her further. Last night that equipment had been necessary, but today he was simply checking up on things and changing her bandages. There was no need for the monstrous kit he kept within the lair for other emergencies.

His fingers moved smoothly and quickly against her skin to remove the soiled gauze and replace it with something fresh and sterile. And as soon as he was finished he lifted the edges of the blanket to wrap them around shoulders once more, regretting the fact that her injuries had ruined the shirt she had formerly been wearing and that they had nothing else they could provide for her. But they were turtles after all, and so the use of clothing, save for the trench coat, gloves and hat they seemed to be a favoured disguise for when they did go topside, was completely unnecessary for them. Never mind the fact that they were all certainly larger than she was, so anything they might have had would have drowned the poor girl in fabric as well.

"There," he announced as he finished tucking the blanket back around her. "All good, for now."

Destiny smiled at him. "Thanks, Don. I really appreciate it."

"Hey! You're awake!"

Both heads turned in time to see the smallest of the four turtles strolling into the room with his customary grin upon his face. Mikey seemed rather pleased to find her conscious now, though it felt like Donatello had given him some kind of look to make him drop his voice just a touch. Swarming her with turtles who were anxious for news on her well-being was perhaps not the wisest idea just yet.

He gave his older brother a slightly sheepish shrug of his shoulders before turning back to Destiny. "You look better," he commented.

"So I've heard," she replied, a smile forming on her lips once more.

"Man, it's been so weird around here today with you here," Mikey told her, leaping over the back of the couch to sit beside her. "Raph and Leo kept wandering back and forth to make sure you hadn't died on them in the middle of the night."

At this, Destiny glanced over toward Don, who was once again shooting his brother a look that desperately wanted him to stop speaking. "Really?"

Mikey nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yeah, they've been super protective since Raph brought you home – almost like they'd compete with one another over who gets to keep you safe first or something."

The groan that sounded from the turtle behind her was all that she needed to hear to realize that there was something else going on without her knowledge, and that idea didn't sit well in the pit of her stomach. But rather than question it now she knew that she needed to sit and observe a little longer to truly get to the bottom of things. And so she turned to look at Michelangelo, letting forth a laugh that was bright with energy in contrast to the way that she actually looked and felt at the moment.

"I think someone has an overactive imagination and a love of drama," she said, turning her head to wink at Donatello.

Her reaction seemed to help him relax a little, but the tension in his shoulders was still rather visible as he looked back and forth between the two to gauge the response from his brother. But Mikey was taking it all in stride, laughing along with her as if he were in on the joke. He leaned back on the couch and flung one arm along the back of it, watching as Destiny settled herself comfortably against the back to rest her body a little and release the strain she was placing on her side.

A glance in his direction assured the brunette that Donatello was still a little on edge over the comments that had been made, for reasons she didn't entirely understand. But addressing them with Michelangelo so close by was perhaps not a wise idea, and so the girl decided to let the matter drop for the time being. Still, she couldn't ignore the intense amount of anxiety that was radiating off of his body and poking at her mind. It was almost like taking the point of a fingernail and repeatedly pressing the same spot over and over again…and now it was actually beginning to hurt. Blinking a couple of times to try and clear her head she focused entirely on Donatello, giving him a gentle nudge with her mind until he lifted his head and their eyes met.

"You don't need to hover," she offered with a small smile. "I'll be fine if you go and take care of yourself for a little while."

He was about to protest when he saw the gentle tilt of her head and the look she shot back over her shoulder to silently shoo him away. But when he once again caught the smile on her lips he couldn't help but sigh softly and push himself up from the chair in which he had sat after finishing with her side. There wasn't a way for him to really argue with her, not when she was right. He knew that sitting around the living room watching her wasn't going to help either one of them, and so the only option was to do as suggested and just let the matter rest.

God, he just hoped that Mikey didn't say anything like that around Raph and Leo.

"I'll be around if you need me," he told her, looking down at her smaller form with a more serious gaze. "Just…reach out, okay?"

Destiny nodded, still wearing her smile. "You'll be the first to know. I promise."

With a small nod and a steady look toward his brother, Donatello finally removed himself from the room and wandered off to busy his hands with something else. It didn't take a genius to sense that something else had begun to plague his mind, though Destiny had not reached that far to read any of his thoughts. Yet another one of her little quirks, she thought to herself as her eyes watched him go. But the instant she sensed him disappear around the corner, the brunette rounded on Mikey and looked at him with a slightly narrowed gaze.

"Look, if you want to joke around me then fine," she started, turning her head quickly again to make sure they were not being overheard. "But apparently your chosen topic is a bit of an issue….so we should just keep it between us, okay?"

The youngest turtle shrugged, giving her a bit of a grin. "Dude, I'm not dumb enough to be the one to bring that up around the others," he assured her. "Raph would kick my shell before I knew what was going on."

There was a strange ease with the way that he talked about being beaten by his older and much bigger brother. And Destiny could only attribute it to the way that the four of them had been brought up. Down in the sewers of New York City they had had no one except for their sensei and one another for company, so she supposed it wasn't all that surprising that Michelangelo had been picked on a bit – though she felt like it wasn't only because of his size. If her last few encounters with him were even remotely close to his usual personality then she could see how that might eventually begin to wear thin on those who spent all of their time with him. Not that he was a bad guy by any means, but he was certainly unique among his brothers.

They all were, for that matter.

It hadn't escaped her noticed that each of them had demonstrated distinctly different personalities that only overlapped in a handful of places. Leonardo had proven rather early on to be a responsible figure who took his lifestyle very seriously, so much so that he had come to the surface with the intention of stopping a human vigilante from doing the very same work that he did. The intelligent one of the group was certainly Donatello, and he had proven that a long time before he had met in person with his natural gift for technology. And even now that she had been brought into their lair he was the one who had demonstrated the skills required to bandage her up and prevent any of her wounds from being infected. Even Michelangelo had his comic wit and sense of fun that really made him stand out, perhaps the purest of the four in some odd sense of the word. Only he seemed to be undisturbed with the fact that they had welcomed a human with unnatural abilities into their midst.

But it was the elusive Raphael who really made the young woman question things, for though she had seen a level of aggression displayed toward the Foot clan down on the docks she hadn't yet spent more than a few minutes in his company. She might have said that he was stubborn though, based on how their last conversation had gone. It might have been brief but he certainly hadn't been willing to let her navigate her way to the couch on her own. But that was about all that she had gotten from him, save for the odd lingering feeling that she knew him from somewhere else…

"You've been living down here for a while, huh?"

Mikey grinned, nodding enthusiastically. "For as long as any of us can remember, really. But Sensei says that we lived somewhere else before the mutagen started messing with our bodies."

Destiny frowned. "You guys were experimented on?"

Again, the turtle in orange nodded. "Something about finding a way to expand life or improve it or something. I don't know. I wasn't paying attention."

Well, that didn't sound overly surprising. If he had as short an attention span as she thought he did, he would likely keep up with today's average teenager. Beyond that it seemed that seriousness and responsibility were somewhat wasted on the younger turtle at this point in his life. But he had three older brothers to keep him in line, so it couldn't be that bad. At least he wouldn't have to grow up as quickly as she did.

"Does he always pick on you?" she asked.

"Raph? Yeah," Mikey nodded. "But sometimes I deserve it. Just don't tell Raph I said so- OWWW!"

"Don't tell me what, knucklehead?"

Well, he wasn't shy about announcing his arrival, she'd give him that. The smack had come out of nowhere, giving poor Michelangelo no time to defend himself before he felt the blow land and his body instantly reacted to it. But Raphael seemed rather unconcerned with the quiet grumblings of his younger brother and instead lifted his dark gaze to stare down at Destiny with a frown that she thought might actually be a permanent fixture on his face. And for the first time since arriving Destiny grew rather self-conscious of the fact that she was half-naked beneath the soft scratch of the blanket that had been placed around her shoulders, pulling it a little tighter as if that alone might be enough to force the feeling away. It didn't do anything to help though.

"You're already gonna be in trouble for not tellin' Master Splinter that she's awake," Raph continued, turning his head to glare down at his brother. "So maybe you should get goin'."

There was no mistaking the dismissal in his voice. Michelangelo quickly scrambled to get off of the couch and get to his feet, still rubbing the back of his head as he turned to go and locate their sensei. That left Destiny alone with the bigger turtle for the first time since he had rescued her in the park. And she had to confess, she was a little unsure of what to do.

He continued to glare after his younger brother for a moment, even as he disappeared out of sight, before he finally directed his attention to Destiny. But as soon as he did his gaze seemed to soften considerably. All of a sudden there was a vulnerability to him that she hadn't seen before. Though she supposed that the only real instances where the two had been thrown together were when he had saved her in the park, when he had protected her on the docks and when he had helped to hold her still on the table afterward. She knew less about him than she cared to admit, and yet felt oddly familiar with him at the same time.

How was that for confusing?

"How do you feel?" he asked her.

Destiny could only blink up at him. "Better," she murmured softly, watching as his slow footsteps began to move him around to the front of the couch. "I don't feel quite so broken."

The answer didn't seem to quite satisfy him though and a frown slowly began to appear on his face as he knelt his body down to her level and looked her up and down. Again she found herself feeling a little self-conscious under his gaze, shifting her weight back a little between her hips so that she was sitting up straighter and could better meet his eye. Now she was aware of the marks that her face still bore from the way that she had been handled by both Hun and the Shredder, she felt rather…self-conscious. It was an uncomfortable feeling that she very seldom ever experienced because she was so preoccupied with other things to bother concerning herself with the impressions of other people, but somehow his gaze seemed to stare right through the walls that she had carefully built over the years and saw right through to the things that she strived to protect the most.

And she had to admit, she really didn't like it.

"You took quite a beatin' the other night," he told her.

At this, Destiny simply looked at him. "And it probably won't be the last."

Again she watched his frown deepen a little more into the dark green skin of his face. Something in her nonchalance was apparently bothering him. For the second time though, Destiny watched as the turtle lifted a hand and started to lean in toward her body before he thought better of his action and slowly retracted it, fingers curling toward his palm in uncertainty.

She reacted purely out of instinct when she released the blanket with her good hand and reached out to touch his green fingers, feeling her stomach jump a little when she did. And it seemed that Raphael was just as startled as she was by the sudden contact between them, for the tension in his body seemed to return almost instantly when he felt her fingers brush the side of his hand.

"I'm not made of glass. You won't break me."

Raphael blinked. "Shouldn't you still be kinda scared?"

A soft sigh passed her lips. "When are you two going to learn?" she started, letting the touch of a smile appear on her lips once more. "The differences on the outside don't always reflect the person on the inside. Just because you don't look human doesn't mean that you're not human where it counts."

He didn't understand.

Where a normal person might have been freaking out about the fact that there were four, life sized turtles and a rat who all possessed the ability to speak English and fight like ninjas living within the sewers of New York City, this girl seemed to handle it all like it was just another day. She had literally experienced two brushes with death in the same twenty-four hour period, and yet she somehow still smiled at him as if the two were old friends. Was he losing his mind, or was this a reality? Master Splinter might have told him the same thing if he had ever confided his true feelings to him, but this girl seemed to know what to say without even really knowing him. How in the world did that happen?

For a moment longer Raphael continued to stare at her until the tingling feeling in his hand reminded him of their contact and forced his mind to connect to the present once more. He gently turned his hand over until the tips of her fingers rested against his palm and his eyes returned to studying the differences that lay between them. His hand was of a dark green shade, hers of a soft pink. There were only three fingers that protruded from his palm and yet there were five slender digits that came from her own. But both bore the markings of use, with scars and cuts that displayed just how aggressively the two attacked the world with closed fists.

"We're so different," he murmured.

"_And yet so much the same."_

His head shot up again to look at her, noting the growth in her smile. But the voice he had heard was softer…and sounded more like it had been in his head than anything else.

"_You're not crazy, I promise."_ Came the voice again, though her lips never once parted to speak. _"It's just another weird thing that I can do."_

Raphael blinked at her. "That's…"

"Weird, I know."

But the turtle was quick to shake his head, fingers tightening slightly around her own. "No! No, not weird. Just…different."

Again the two of them continued to sit in a strangely comfortable silence, neither of them over anxious to break the spell that they had been placed under during their brief conversation. As the soft smile remained on her face, she noticed that his eyes were rather fixed on her face, perhaps for a reaction, and after a moment of eye contact Destiny's instinct suddenly told her to look away and lock her eyes onto something else. The choice fell to the connection that they still had in their hands, where Raphael continued to hold tight to her fingers like he was afraid she might let go forever. She could feel it too though, the slight fear that he seemed to have when he was around her. But she knew that it wasn't because of the abilities that she had, for even just touching his mind as lightly as she could manage in her weaker state, she felt that he was almost familiar with them. He wasn't at all afraid of the things that she could do.

No, it was something else…something she couldn't quite read…

From where he stood on the second level of the lair, he had a clear view of what was happening below. And despite any initial thoughts he might have had about the idea of yet another human girl being brought down to discover their world, all of his anxieties seemed to ease away in that single moment. Never before had Raphael taken to someone else like that, seeming to struggle for the correct words that might better display the emotions he was so used to keeping under lock and key. And yet here he was, kneeling before this strange new friend that had abilities he had never before known a human to possess. And there wasn't a single trace of tension in his body anymore.

Master Splinter smiled a little and folded his hands behind his back once more. It seemed that there was much to discuss about this new situation, and a great many more things to discover. But this girl was unlike the one who had come before her. Younger, of course, but there was yet another deep and personal connection to his sons than he had realized before. And now, seeing Raphael in such a calm state with her, only proved it to him.

Perhaps there was a purpose in their meeting after all.


	14. Chapter 14

**Okay friends, this chapter is much smaller than the previous ones, but it started as a conversation that I knew was inevitable and progressed from there. Hopefully a few of you will be kind enough to leave me little reviews when you finish reading. This story is almost at an end, and that means that I will begin writing out "Donatello's Dream" very shortly.  
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**Chapter Fourteen**

"You asked to see me?"

She was not anxious to begin this conversation, he noticed. The way that she had positioned her body against the outside edge of the wall, half concealed from his eyes, was evidence enough of the fact that the young woman still wasn't fully comfortable with being in his presence. Even as he opened his eyes and looked up from where he knelt against the floor in meditation, Splinter could see the flicker of wariness in her eyes. Smiling softly, the old rat nodded his head and waved a clawed hand in her direction to invite her inside, wishing for the two of them to be alone while they spoke. But he knew he would be foolish if he thought that his sons had not taken notice of her disappearance. It was Leonardo who had come to see him first and through whom he had relayed his message. If she had been sitting with the others, as she was likely to have done, then they would all have noticed the sudden tension in her body as she moved from the living area and toward his personal chamber.

He waited until she had made her way inside, her steps still relatively small as she battled against the aches and pains that her body was currently forced to endure. It was with evident discomfort that she lowered herself into a kneeling position that mirrored his own, but aside from the occasional twist in her lip she gave no other sign of struggle. Whether she realized it or not, the girl was already showing more about herself than she had probably shown anyone in the last several years.

Once she had shifted herself into a slightly more comfortable position and her weight had fallen back on her heels, Master Splinter slowly began. "Donatello tells me that you are beginning to heal well."

Destiny nodded. "Your boys have been very good to me over these past few days," she told him softly. "I don't know what state I would be in if it weren't for them."

"It would be different indeed," the rat said, nodding his head in agreement. "We both know that if it were not for you, Leonardo would not be here to watch over you."

Evidently she was a little startled with the abruptness with which he had turned the conversation, as her eyes grew wide and she blinked at him several times. But Destiny quickly regained her composure when she drew air into her lungs, centering herself once more.

"He told you about that?"

The rat nodded, and the girl knew that there was no way of dodging the bullet on this one. "It wouldn't have been right to let him die. Not like that."

"But right or not, you made a choice," Splinter told her calmly, watching as her eyes slowly lifted from the darkened corner on which they had been so set in her desire to avoid his gaze. "And all choices have consequences to them. In saving Leonardo you could not have known that he would one day do the same for you, yet you saved him anyway."

A silence fell between the two of them as Destiny seemed to absorb his words, a tight look of concentration crossing her features. He did not need to have her abilities to know what she was thinking – that she would do it all again in a heartbeat if the situation arose. It was a look that he had seen time and time again on the faces of his sons at different points in their lives, each of them having made a decision that somehow affected the way in which they lived beneath the streets of the city, hidden away from a world that might otherwise reject them for their differences. But then there was also the fact that her abilities did not set her apart from the five of them either. Though she appeared as the humans of the surface world did, she could do a multitude of things that they could only dream of doing for themselves.

Despite himself, Splinter found that he wondered what gifts this girl possessed aside from her ability to heal other people. Leonardo had gone into great detail about how close that bullet had come to ending his life, so much so that he barely remembered a vast majority of the journey from the jewelry store to when he woke up in her apartment, newly healed and confronted by an unmasked vigilante. He hadn't understood what was going on until a short while later, during their conversation when he had seen the bullet, still covered in his blood, sitting in a small dish that she had left sitting beside the kitchen sink.

But he would never dare to ask her, if only because he feared making her even more uncomfortable than she already was in his presence. Given time though, he hoped that she might one day feel like she could open up to him and allow him a better look at who she really was. There was no doubt in his mind that he would be able to trust her to keep their secret, for he saw no benefit to her running about and telling the world all about what she had discovered. And truth be told, if she were really that anxious to escape back into her own world she likely would have found a way to do so long before now.

Though he was rather certain that Leonardo and Raphael both would have followed her until they had located her once more.

"I said once before that I thought something was troubling you," the rat began again, breaking the silence with his soft voice. "I can see this to be true in your eyes." When he saw how startled she was though, Splinter lifted a clawed hand to prevent her from speaking. "But you do not have to share your troubles with me until you are ready, if ever you are."

A sense of relief immediately seemed to flood over the girl as the tension began to disappear from her shoulders, an audible sigh passing through her lips. And when she finally did turn her head to make direct eye contact with him, Splinter found that the girl was wearing one of the most thankful smiles he had seen on anyone's face in a good long time. Her eyes alone spoke volumes of gratitude at not being pushed on the matter, and as she struggled back to her feet again, she turned to leave him alone to his thoughts, pausing at the door.

"I'll never be able to thank you enough for this," she told him.

Splinter only smiled in returned. "And you shall never have to."

With one last smile Destiny slowly removed herself from the room and returned to where the brothers were anxiously awaiting her arrival, something Splinter knew the instant she was out of his sight. He had known that the four brothers were lurking just outside of the screen door the entire time, each listening closely to what part of the conversation might pertain to them. And though he typically would have admonished them for such behaviour he knew that this was the one time that he would say nothing at all. It would do him no good anyway, not when he considered how each of them had taken to liking the young woman in some way.

No, he would simply allow it to pass as if nothing were amiss at all. Only then would he truly be able to see the impact that she had upon each of them, and where this new discovery would take them. And if it were to head where he believed it would, there were a great many adventures in store.


	15. Chapter 15

**It's been a little while since my last update and I apologize for that. I've now finished college and have made my way back home again, so now that things are settling in a little better I should have some more time to write. I hope you all like this newest update, even though I'm sure it's going to raise a number of questions and cause some confusion. Leave me a review and let me know what you think!  
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**Chapter Fifteen**

The boys had clearly been rather curious to know how her conversation with Master Splinter had gone when at last she returned to them that night, but they had all wisely chosen to refrain from asking about it. They knew that she wouldn't have told them anyway, whether it was because their sensei had asked her not to or just because the conversation was likely to have been of a private nature. Very seldom did they ever inquire into each other's conversations anymore. It really wasn't their place to ask. When sensei wanted to speak to you it was normally because what he had to say was for you alone to hear, words of wisdom or encouragement that would help you progress further in your training or understand the tangled emotions that lingered deep within you.

After a little more conversation between the five of them that night, each slowly begun to retire to their room so that they could get some rest. The past few days had been rather uneventful for them in terms of surface world activity, but they had been occupied rather well with the human girl who still remained in their home. The first to retire was Donatello, barely managing to hide his yawn behind his hand as he paused midway through his sentence of telling Destiny just how much she had healed over the past several days. It was with a small laugh and a waved hand that she sent him off toward his bedroom, down the very same hallway she had once gone to find his older brother when sleep had not come to her.

Raph and Leo seemed to quietly battle it out between the two of them as to who would give up and go to sleep first, each beginning to nod off on either end of the couch until at last she had given them a gentle push with her mind for them to retreat as well. They hadn't gone willingly, putting up a half-hearted fight as they tried to insist that they were perfectly fine, but she wasn't buying their words. Finally, after nearly fifteen minutes of attempting to convince them that she was alright to be left for the evening, they departed. Leo sauntered down the very same hallway that Donatello had taken a short while before while Raphael struggled up the steps that would carry him toward his own room, much to the amusement of both Destiny and Michelangelo, the only remaining brother who hadn't yet fallen prey to the inevitable feeling of fatigue.

"Don't you sleep?" she asked him in a teasing tone.

But the smallest turtle just laughed and shook his head. "No way, dude. It's way too early to be sleeping! I'm a nighttime turtle."

Destiny couldn't help but laugh softly. "I imagine you're quite the typical teenager, Mikey. If you had things your way you'd be up there partying in the clubs until some ungodly hour of the morning."

"Hey, you can't deny that I've got some serious moves," he said, grinning brightly.

"I wouldn't know," she shrugged. "I've never been dancing before."

At this Michelangelo stopped, blinking at her with a look of confusion written across his youthful face. Evidently he wasn't sure if he believed her, and Destiny didn't need to see the inside of his mind to read that from him. But now she felt a little self-conscious about the whole affair and quickly dropped her eyes so that she no longer had to look at him head on. Damn it, she thought to herself. What was with these turtles? All of a sudden the walls that she had worked so hard to create and maintain over the past several years of her life were being torn down and walked through as if they had never existed at all. And there seemed to be absolutely nothing that she could do to stop it.

Mikey shook his head and grinned. "You're totally kidding."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, I mean…dude," he said, throwing his hands out before him as if he were presenting something to her. "Look at you! You're a total babe!"

Now embarrassed, Destiny brushed his comments aside with her good hand. "Looks have very little to do with it," she told him with a serious edge in her tone. "There were a couple of other things that took priority when I was growing up that didn't involve going out to the club and dancing. And besides," she added as an afterthought. "Most of what they do in those clubs isn't what I'd call dancing anyway."

For reasons he didn't fully understand, Mikey decided just to let the matter go. Something in the way she spoke and quickly brushed his words aside made him feel as though she was hiding something from him, attempting to forget a distant memory that still caused her pain to recall. So perhaps just this once, the youngest turtle wouldn't push the issue. Besides, if he had things his way then there would be plenty of time in the future for him to learn all of the really cool things that she could do and where she came from. After all, someone with gifts like the ones he knew Destiny had weren't just born that way. There was something more in her backstory than just your average family life – especially since she hadn't yet spoken of any such family.

With a grin, the young turtle rose to his feet and stretched his arms up above his head, his neck slowly moving from side to side. "Maybe," he said with a shrug. "I wouldn't really know, I guess."

"You don't really get much of a nightlife, do you?" she asked him. "Aside from running across the rooftops and fighting ninjas of course."

At this, Mikey just shrugged. "Nah, I guess not. Not too many people are cool with the idea that I'm a six-foot, walking, talking turtle, you know? It can be a lot to handle."

"Don't I know it."

Destiny laughed softly as she adjusted the way that she was sitting on the couch, stretching both of her legs out in front of her to try and ease the aches and pains that she was still experiencing. Donatello had been right when he had said that she was recovering quickly, for by this point her bruises and cuts were basically non-existent. The only part of her that was still working on fixing itself was the shoulder that had been dislocated and the nasty wound that she had suffered to her side, both of which seemed to be at the rear end of the healing train. But it seemed that the arm was better than her side, and she could only attribute that to the fact that she had ripped it open a few times since the initial wound had been dealt to her skin. After all, she hadn't really been taking it easy since the night she had first met Leo.

"Hey Mikey?"

"What's up?" he asked her.

Destiny gently bit her lip. "Do you think you might be able to help me with something? I didn't want to bother the others cause…well…quite frankly I don't think they'd be overly keen on the idea."

At this, Michelangelo blinked at her. "You're not going to get me into trouble are you?"

"Well…maybe a little. But it's nothing super dangerous. I just need a little help in moving, that's all."

Mikey seemed to consider her proposal for a moment before he rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Oh shell, who am I to say no?"

"You did WHAT!?"

Destiny had warned him that this might happen, and clearly she had been right. Leo wasn't overly pleased with the news, and at that moment Mikey would have preferred not to be standing between him and Raphael as they both glared heavily in his direction. Still the younger turtle knew that he hadn't done anything wrong, and that thought alone was enough to make him cross his arms and look at his older brother with a small flicker of defiance in his eyes.

"I took her home," he repeated slowly. "She was being smothered down here, Leo."

"And who the shell are you to make that decision?" Raph demanded, taking a threatening step forward.

This time however, it was Donatello who stepped into the conversation. "Be reasonable guys. She's been down here with us for a couple of days now and she was getting a lot better. Maybe this is what she needed."

It wasn't exactly what the elder two brothers wanted to hear. In the days that Destiny had come down to be in their company things seemed to have changed rather dramatically for them all, shifting their relationships with one another as they made room for the ones that were beginning to grow with her. Leo didn't like the fact that something had happened without his knowledge, especially since it concerned the girl who had saved his life. For reasons he didn't fully understand he had come to feel responsible for her, protective in a way that he had never felt before. Even the responsibility he felt as the eldest of his brothers didn't compare to what went through him when Destiny was involved. So to hear that she had been relocated without his knowledge did not sit well with the leader of the foursome.

Still, Mikey wasn't going to back down. He had quickly come to understand why Destiny had requested his help in getting back to the surface world and the apartment that she called home when she attempted to climb her way out of the sewer. She still wasn't fully capable of using her shoulder in such a demanding way, so it had taken a little maneuvering for the two of them to come up with a system of getting up the ladder without causing her any pain, but they managed it. Getting into the apartment had been much easier, thanks to the added hand that her telekinetic ability give them with the window and a bit of an extra boost to get onto the fire escape outside the living room.

At least she had been smart enough to ask for his help instead of just vanishing on her own accord this time.

"The Foot know who she is now," Leo continued darkly, his arms folded across his chest as he grit his teeth in anger at the notion. "They saw her face. What makes you think that they won't hunt her down while they know that she's injured?"

"Dude, she's not stupid," argued Mikey, rolling his eyes. "I asked her the same thing. She knows of the risk."

"That doesn't mean lettin' her go was smart!" Raphael yelled. "Geez, Mikey! You've had some really stupid moments in the past but this one takes the cake!"

"_Would you guys knock it off?"_

The four of them jumped in unison at the shock of hearing a voice ring through the room, a female one that they were all too familiar with by this point in time. But that was impossible. Mikey had taken her back to her apartment and that was a bit of a distance from where they stood now. So why would they be hearing her voice? Because as they looked around at one another, it was clear that they had all heard her. Each turtle seemed to wear his own look of surprise and confusion as he looked around the room to see if perhaps she had come back down somehow, or if this was some kind of practical joke that had been set up by the others.

"Did you-?"

"Nope."

"Not me."

"Not cool."

A moment of silence came between them as they continued to look about them, uncertain of what they were supposed to do next. The voice had interrupted their argument and caused the anger to momentarily abate as the four brothers stood together in the living room, leaving each one unsure of what they were to do next. It was only when they heard a growl from Leonardo and watched him take off that they started to react to anything else. His abrupt departure was confusing to say the least, and even though they called out to him and eventually began to follow him down the various sewer lines, he didn't immediately respond to them. Left and right, up and down they followed him, all the while demanding to know where he was going and why he had taken off so suddenly. Even as he beat them to the surface and they tracked him across the rooftops Leo said nothing in response, almost as if the turtle couldn't hear his brother's calling out to him.

All of a sudden he stopped and stood completely motionless on an open rooftop. It was this pause that gave his brothers the opportunity they needed to catch up to him, leaping over the final alleyway until they slowly came up behind him with caution in their eyes.

"What the shell was that all about?" Raph demanded, giving his brother a shove in the shoulder. "Why didn't you answer us?"

"Because I blocked you out."

In their haste to catch up to Leo, none of them had realized that Destiny was standing so close by, leaning up against one of the vents that appeared in the middle of the rooftop. Her arm was still in the sling as per Donatello's orders, but even Mikey could see that her appearance had altered in the short window of time that had passed since he had left her. Her skin certainly didn't look as pale, though he couldn't tell for sure with only the moonlight and the light pollution of the city around them. But she was definitely walking better, he noted. Even with the evident injuries still present, there was an air of confidence and power about her that he had completely missed when she had been down in the sewers with them.

And he had to admit, it was actually really cool to see it.

Raphael frowned as he turned around to look at her, his arms folded tightly over his chest. "Why the shell would you do that?"

"Because if I hadn't then you'd still be standing in the sewers arguing," she told him flatly. "And it was really starting to give me a headache."

"You were listening?" Donnie asked her.

The brunette gave a bit of a shrug with her good shoulder. "I figured you guys would give Mikey a hard time about letting me go home. I'd have stopped you sooner but I don't have the strength to do anything more than I just did."

The expression that Leonardo wore was certainly not one that led her to believe that he was pleased with what she had done. But at this point in time she wasn't sure whether that was because she had left or because she had blocked everything out so that he could focus on the nudge that she gave him to bring him topside and onto her roof. Either way she could see the anger still flickering in his eyes, directed solely at her now. And that was just fine. Destiny didn't actually need to be able to read his mind to know that his anger wouldn't become physical toward her, he had protected her far too much in the past several days for such an outburst.

"You shouldn't have left," he told her, the heavy frown still firmly in place.

Destiny sighed. "Maybe," she agreed. "I wouldn't have gotten far without Mikey's help. But I couldn't stay in the sewers anymore, Leo. You guys have already done more than enough for me, and I needed to be outside. I'm used to running around in the dark and smelling the salt of the ocean. It just didn't feel right."

"So then why didn't you just ask us earlier?" chimed in Raphael, stepping forward a little until he was right behind Leo's shoulder.

"Because I knew how the two of you would react," Destiny stated calmly. "You guys have been hovering like worried parents since the moment you brought me down there. There was no way you were going to let me come home without a fight."

"You're not safe-"

But Destiny held up her good hand, instantly stopping Leonardo in his tracks. "I know," she told him softly. "I know I'm not. But I can't stop living my life, Leo. There are too many people in this city who need help to just turn away now."

For a moment the two of them seemed to just stare at one another, as if they were locked in a mental conversation that the others were unable to read. His eyes seemed to burn into her with the intensity of his gaze. Destiny met it with a much softer look of her own and seemed to ultimately win when Leonardo gave his head a small shake and sighed. A green hand was lifted as he pressed the heel of his palm against his face, trying to rub away the conflicting emotions that now came to light on his face.

"Just promise me you'll be careful," he said.

Destiny nodded in response, offering him a small smile. "It'll be okay, Leo. Everything will work out fine in the end."

The turtle didn't immediately respond to her, but quickly stepped to close the gap between them and wrap his strong arms around her in a gentle hug. Words were no longer necessary to relay the concern that he felt for her well-being as the young woman responded in kind with her functioning arm. It was silent on the rooftop in that instant, as none of the others dared to speak until they saw Destiny give Leo a bit of a squeeze with her arm and then gently push him away so that she could look up at him once more.

"Now, get out of here before you make Master Splinter worry."

Leo smirked down at her and nodded. Without another word he turned and headed off of the rooftop, back toward the lair that was his home. Donatello remained long enough to tell her that he would check in with her the next day to see how she was healing before he too headed off into the night, and Michelangelo made a great show of fist bumping the young woman before prancing off to join his brothers. She turned long enough to give him a bit of a wave in farewell before she remembered the other silent presence who was on the rooftop with her that night and slowly angled herself around to look at his still serious expression.

The tension in his arms was evident in the way that he had crossed them over his chest, and the slight hunch in his back told her that he still wasn't overly pleased with the idea of leaving her on her own just yet. Her conversations with Raphael had been fairly brief in the past, giving her no opportunity to really talk to him about what had happened that night in the park when their paths had crossed. But it seemed that the red masked turtle wasn't yet interested in sharing those details with her.

"You're not safe," he repeated to her. "They know who you are and they _will_ be comin' for you."

"Probably," agreed the girl. "And when they find me I'll be ready. I refuse to bury my head in the sand and hope that they'll just give up, Raphael. I've come too far to just give up on everything now."

In two strong strides, Raphael had closed the gap between them until he was able to look down on her smaller figure. "Do you have any idea of what they will do to you when they find you? They'll want you dead, kid, so that you can't use your powers against 'em."

"It doesn't matter," Destiny insisted. "They are not the only people who want me dead, okay? I've kept myself alive for the last eight years-"

"And what if they catch you?"

"If Hun thinks he can catch me-"

"I ain't talkin' about them, Destiny. I'm talkin' about Powers."

Hearing that name caused her eyes to grow wide as she took a small step backward in shock. For eight years it had been a haunting nightmare that wouldn't go away, a constant reminder of all she had endured in her youth to get to this point. Every attempt at finding the truth had failed until the moment she put the pieces together to come up with that name, and here before her was someone who spat the name at her like he had known it all along. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as Raphael continued to wait for her response, but she found that the words were almost caught in her throat. How on earth could he possibly know?

"How do you-?"

"I know more than you think," the turtle said gruffly, turning his head away a little as a look of disgust registered upon his face. "And I know how dangerous a man like Powers is when you get on his bad side. And trust me, kid, you're not someone who is gonna make his good books."

The questions appeared in her brain faster than she could process them. There had been only one other person in her life who had known about Darien Powers…but she was gone now. Powers had seen to that. The memory of that night caused the anger to bubble in the pit of her stomach and take over from the shock that she had previously felt, her teeth clenching together tightly. It didn't matter if Raph knew or not, Destiny quickly reminded herself. Powers would eventually pay for all of the pain and suffering that he had caused and there was absolutely nothing that anyone could do to stop it. He had ruined too many lives. And soon his time would come.

"Don't get involved," she warned him. "I don't know what you know and quite frankly, I don't care. But you cannot be involved in this, Raphael. You'll only get yourself hurt."

Staring down with his stubborn gaze like that almost made Destiny a little more self-conscious about the situation that she was currently in, but there was something more. The tingle in her skin as his eyes locked into hers was enough to remind her of something she had felt many times over in her life since…since that night almost eight years ago. The memories slowly began to resurface and flash before her eyes as she looked up at Raphael, filling the girl with the same dread and terror that she had been overwhelmed with before. It was like having to relive the experience for a second time, remembering every sharp jab that had pierced her flesh, every moment of feeling like her skin was going to burn to a crisp as she lay on that table under the bright white lights of the room.

Her heart beat began to pick up once more and her breathing became laboured as she recalled those days, her legs beginning to quiver beneath her body. It was only the turtle's strong arms that kept her from falling completely when they gave out and her frightened body began to shiver against his chest. In seconds Raph had scooped her up into his arms as carefully as he could and moved to the fire escape, moving swiftly down the ladder and through the first open window that he found until he was able to set her gently down on her living room couch.

"Easy kid, easy," he said, taking a seat next to her until she slowly returned from her memories and came to realize where she was.

For a moment she did not speak. Her eyes closed as she tried to regain her center, bringing her heartrate down to a normal pace. "I can't let him hurt anyone else like this," she whispered softly. "Nobody else should have to suffer like this."

Despite her best efforts to keep her emotions under wraps, Destiny found that too much had surfaced. Tears slowly began to spill from her eyes and run down the soft skin of her cheeks, prompting the girl to lean forward into her hand in an effort to try and hide them from her companion. It just wasn't fair, she thought to herself. It wasn't fair that this could happen to someone else. It wasn't fair that she had been forced to become a monster. It wasn't fair that Raphael was the one to see her break down like this. She had spent so much of the last eight years in anger that she had virtually ignored most of the other emotions that one might experience on a daily basis, opting to push her sadness and heartache as far away as possible so that she wouldn't have to feel them again. But now they were back with a vengeance, very clear in their reminder of what she had gone through and what still needed to be done.

For his part, Raphael could only sit there and wonder. There were only a handful of things that he knew, though he doubted that the human girl beside him was aware of his knowledge on the subject, and that was alright for now. He didn't understand this drive she had to take down Darien Powers, a name he wasn't overly familiar with, nor what it was that had been done to her so long ago. All he knew was what he had witnessed that night almost eight years ago, when their lives had first crossed paths. Only she didn't realize it yet.

With a small sigh, Raph twisted his body and gently wrapped an arm around Destiny, giving her a gentle nudge until she had lifted her face and pressed it tightly against the front of his shell. He didn't speak a word, but simply continued to hold onto her while the tears slowly continued to run their course down her face. It wasn't going to take her a little more time to come to terms with how things were, and perhaps even longer than that before she would disclose to him the darkness that lurked in her heart. But he would wait, he told himself. He'd already waited this long.

What was a little while longer?


	16. Chapter 16

**Sorry for the delay, but here is the next chapter! Things are about to get really rocky for Destiny and the turtles, so make sure that you favourite the story so that you're always up to date with what's happening! Thank you to those of you who have recently reviewed "A Secret Friend" and put it into your favourites. I really appreciate the feedback I'm getting!  
**

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**Chapter Sixteen**

"He's become one of the most powerful and influential people in the city since Saks Industries went under," Donatello told his brother, fingers flying across the keyboard with a swiftness that made Raphael feel a little nauseous if he tried to watch for too long. "His company is all about security and power though. There is absolutely nothing connected to him that has anything to do with biochemistry or anything."

"There's gotta be somethin' Donnie," insisted the headstrong turtle as he learned forward to examine the articles that were popping up on the various computer screens. "He can't be completely innocent."

"Are you sure we're looking at the right guy?"

"Trust me," Raph nodded, turning his gaze down to his younger brother. "You didn't see the look on her face, Don. She was scared; like 'little kid in a haunted house' scared."

Donatello sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair, lifting his olive coloured hand to rub at his tired eyes. For almost three hours now he had been sitting at the desk, searching absolutely everything he could think of in order to locate the information on Darien Powers that Raph had wanted. Obviously something had happened during the conversation he had shared with Destiny on the rooftop after the others had departed, and though he only had a small idea of what had been said, there was no denying that this was important. Raphael was perhaps the most physical of the four turtles, and so for him to come to his younger brother in need of help with something like this meant that the stakes had been raised once again. And somehow, he was pretty sure that things were going to get worse again before they began to get better.

"I can keep looking," he offered. "But I don't really know what I'm supposed to be looking for."

Raphael growled a little in frustration. "Just keep lookin'."

In the years that they had spent growing up together, Donatello had come to observe quite a bit about each of his brothers and the way that they handled the stresses in their lives. Raphael was certainly the more aggressive of the four turtles, often taking out his anger on the training equipment that he was constantly having to fix because of the beatings that they sustained. Often, after a very bad episode or an argument with Leo, Raph would practically destroy some of the training dummies that had been set up for their use. But this was perhaps the first time that Don had seen his older brother frustrated for reasons that were not entirely related to his own wants and desires. This time he was attempting to help out a friend and finding his path blocked by a lack of answers, an intellectual approach as opposed to physical.

He would be lying if he said that things around the lair hadn't been different since they had brought Destiny into their midst. Only two other humans were truly aware of their existence, but neither of them had any sort of abnormality that might liken them to the four turtles who had been raised by a rat in the sewers of New York City. No, Destiny was certainly unique. And perhaps the most unique thing about her, at least in Donatello's mind, was not the amazing list of abilities that she possessed. It was the way in which she had abruptly altered their lives on an individual basis, provoking some change in each turtle that they probably didn't yet realize themselves.

Leo had certainly been a little more obsessed about the world above. Though they had been concerned with the Foot and lately, this new group who referred to themselves as the Purple Dragons, he had never before shown such a keen interest as he did now. Mikey was still his playful self, but his approach had turned more toward teasing his elder brothers about their growing affections for the girl as opposed to just causing a little mischief for the sake of it. One of these days it was going to get him a good beating from one of the two, depending on which one decided to snap first. Even his own interest in the human world had changed dramatically since he had learned that the battered young woman whose wounds he had treated was in fact the nighttime vigilante who was all over the news.

But Raph…well, Donnie wasn't entirely sure what to make of him just yet. He had taken to the young woman much faster than anyone could have anticipated, and certainly more than he had taken to April when first they had come across her. The way in which he carried on made Donnie think that perhaps he was more familiar with Destiny, but that didn't make any sense at all. She'd been in their lives for such a short amount of time that it was almost impossible for them to know her any better than they currently did, especially since she had been unconscious for almost half of the time that she had been down in the lair.

There was something that Raph wasn't telling him…he just knew it.

How was he supposed to know what he was even looking for? The olive green turtle rubbed at his tired eyes as he turned back to the screens and examined each one again, searching for some hidden clue that might help him figure out the puzzle before him. Unfortunately it seemed that he was going to be stuck for a while. Nobody was all that forthcoming with information for him to go on. And until he had the data that he needed there was absolutely no way that he was going to be able to do what was asked of him. The task was impossible.

Donatello groaned to himself and slammed a frustrated fist down on the computer desk. Why did it always fall to him? Why was it that when things got rough, he was the one who was supposed to figure things out? He might have screamed if he thought it might help matters and not just bring the others running. Yet he knew it wouldn't do anything. It would only make matters worse.

Finally, after sitting alone in the silence for nearly ten minutes, he made a decision.

The journey back to the surface was not a long or difficult one now that he knew where he was going. It was rather simple to locate a manhole that was closer to her apartment and then head up that way, concealed in the shadows that the alleyway so kindly provided. He knew as soon as he tapped on her fire escape window that he had startled her, he could see the surprise in her eyes when her head snapped up from where she sat on the couch, curled up in a ball with her head down against her knees. But she didn't deny him either and quickly rose from the couch so that she could open the window and beckon him inside.

"Are you insane?" she hissed at him, looking around at the ground beneath her. "It's not nearly dark enough for you to be out, Don. What if someone saw you?"

"Nobody saw me," he assured her, arms folded tightly over his chest. "I was careful. I always am."

"Careful or not it's still a reckless thing to do."

He didn't argue with her as he stepped through the window and watched her quickly slam it shut, closing the blind in the process to prevent any other eyes from looking in on them. Instead he watched, quietly looking for the changes in her body that would tell him of the progress she had already made in recovering her health. And among the first he had noticed was the obvious removal of her sling as she used both arms freely, though obviously still with some discomfort. The wince in her face when she slammed the window shut again was all the evidence he needed of that.

Now that the window was blocked she moved across the living room and toward the kitchen, busying her hands with the dishes in the sink. Her back was to him, and it wasn't just because she had been in the middle of doing something when he had arrived. She was clearly trying to avoid him.

"How are you feeling?" he finally asked her.

"Fine," came her swift reply. "Everything's slowly getting better."

Donatello frowned a little, noting the tension he could see in her shoulders. When he had left her twenty-four hours ago she had seemed to be in much better spirits, practically pushing them all to agree that she needed to return to her own apartment for the sake of her health. But now he was beginning to wonder if there was not some anterior motive behind her decision to remove herself from the lair. She was hiding something, there was no denying that. And the sudden interest that Raphael had shown in Darien Powers had struck Donatello as being rather curious as well. What on earth did that man have to do with anything?

Slow strides took him from the living room until he stood just behind her. An olive green hand slowly reached out, coming to rest on her shoulder as he felt much of the tension slowly begin to drift away. A heavy sigh fell from her lips as she turned herself around to face him, her arms tightly across her chest as she hugged herself.

"Promise me you'll be careful," she murmured, looking up at him with concern in her dark brown orbs. "I have an awful feeling about what's to come now that they've seen my face, and I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to you guys because of me."

Donatello frowned darkly. "What are you so worried about?" he asked her, giving his head a small shake to further demonstrate his lack of understanding.

But the young woman didn't answer. Instead she bowed her head and leaned into him until her forehead was gently pressed against the front of his chest. Donatello blinked, caught off guard by her actions. His instincts, however, won out. Before he had a chance to really consider his actions Donatello had reached up and wrapped his arms lightly around her shoulders, holding her close as the girl continued to press herself against the front of his body. He didn't know what had provoked such a reaction from either one of them, though he knew he wasn't about to ask her. And for some odd reason, this form of contact that he had established with her felt almost…dare he think it?

Normal.

For a moment they simply stood there, each one seeming to relax a little more as the moments passed. Each intake of air allowed them a slower moment of exhalation, removing the doubt and negativity from their bodies until at last Destiny pulled herself back, giving Donatello a sheepish smile and a muttered apology. Again the turtle blinked at her, finding that she was still one of the biggest mysteries that he faced in his daily life. But he waved her apology away with one of his hands and leaned back against the island, crossing his own arms over his chest.

"So, are you going to let me take a look or do I have to force you?"

Her lips parted as if to speak, but she caught herself and reconsidered her choice of action. Had Raphael said something to him? No, that didn't seem likely since Raph had been concerned with other matters the last time the two of them had spoken. Perhaps Donnie just had a really good memory for things like that, she assumed. After all, with the way that they attacked the Foot she would be at all surprised if he had nursed battle scars of his own after their encounters.

But she didn't argue, he noticed. Though the look in her eyes was one of unamusement, Destiny's hand moved to the edge of her sweater and pulled the material up until she could tuck it under her arm to let him see the bandage that was plastered across her skin. At least now he couldn't see the blood seeping through to the other side, he thought. That was a good sign already. When he didn't move forward to remove the bandage however, Destiny allowed the edge of her shirt to drop and her fingers anxiously began to lay it flat against her body once more.

"It's not causing you any problems?"

The brunette shook her head with a small shrug of her shoulders. "Not really. It's the only part of me that doesn't seem to be healing as quickly, but the bandage is more to protect the surface of the skin than anything now. It bruised pretty nicely."

Donatello chuckled a little. "I don't doubt it. You took quite the beating."

A small smirk began to dance at the corner of her lips. "I guess it's a good thing I know a doctor then, huh?"

As he folded his arms back over his chest, Donnie dropped his eyes a little in embarrassment. All of a sudden the tables had turned and his previous intentions were forgotten as she looked at him and caused the blush to rise in his cheeks. His face felt hot, his heart beat picking up a little bit. And he could only attribute the feeling to the way that she looked at him, complimenting his skills and seeming to thank him at the same time for all that he had thus far done in order to speed her recovery along.

But the turtle bit his lip a little nervously as he pushed those feelings aside and came to recall what had brought him up to see her in the first place. As nice as it was to be in her company when she wasn't bleeding all over the place, there was something that had begun to weigh on his mind that he needed to ask her.

"Look, Des," he began, slowly lifting his eyes back up to her.

For a moment he almost reconsidered asking her. The quiet contentment on her face was something he wasn't accustomed to seeing, and it bothered him immensely to think that his simple question might ruin that for her. Was it really all that important? When he remembered the intensity with which his brother had come to him to ask for his help he knew he had answered his own question. He couldn't do anything more without answers.

"Who's Darien Powers?"

The atmosphere of the room changed instantly. Gone was the smile that had been on her face as it was replaced by a rather stunned, wide-eyed look instead. The tension returned to her body so quickly that Donatello doubted he even had time to breath before she had pulled back from him and put as much distance between them as the confines of the kitchen would allow. Her mouth hung open slightly as she collided with the edge of the countertop, her hands moving instinctively to grasp at the edge so that she knew for sure that there was no place else to go.

But the darkness that overtook her features an instant later was enough to almost scare Donatello. He didn't think he'd ever seen such a look before, one that seemed to combine a great many things behind a mask of anger that instantly cooled the room. Her lips pressed tightly together in a half-snarl. Her fingers dug into the countertop.

"Who told you about Darien Powers?" she demanded in a growl.

His hands were up in an instant. "Raph asked me for help-"

He stopped when he heard the growl in her throat, which caused the turtle to stare at her with wide eyes. Suddenly he was wishing that he could back away from the whole situation, but his shell was pressed as tightly to the island as he could manage. Even if he slid around the one side and retreated back into the living room his instincts told him that she would follow.

"Listen to me very carefully, Donatello," she began in a hiss, pulling away from the countertop as she stood to her full height and looked at him. "This goes no further. You are to delete anything you found about Powers from your computer and you are to tell your brother that it's neither of your business. Do you understand me?"

She wasn't going to hurt him, his instincts told him that as well. But he would be lying if he said he wasn't frightened of what he was seeing in her right now. Every trace of happiness that he had previously seen had been erased at the mention of a single name, which lead the turtle to believe that there was far more at stake than either he or Raphael currently realized. And if he didn't know any better, he'd say that fear was one of the emotions that was being masked by the anger she now wore on her face.

But what was she afraid of?

In this moment he knew better than to ask. All he could think about was the look of intensity that rested within the depths of her eyes and how uneasy it made him feel. He spoke not a word, but hurried to nod his head and slowly remove himself from the immediate vicinity. Within a few minutes Donnie had retreated back to the living room and slipped out the window, disappearing into the darkness once again.

Destiny stared out the window, teeth grit in anger. Now she knew that she was running out of time to act. She couldn't put it off anymore.

As he dashed across the rooftops though, Donatello began to fiddle with the little piece of technology that he had brought with him, stored safely in his shell. His fingers jammed down on the buttons before he brought it to his ear and waited anxiously for someone to answer on the other side.

"Raph? It's me," he said quickly. "We have a big problem."


	17. Chapter 17

**A thousand and one apologies that this chapter took forever to be posted! I cannot even begin to tell you how horrible this case of writer's block has been and how frustrated I am that I'm only just getting to finish it. It might seem a little rushed due to my lack of muse lately, and for that I apologize again. Hopefully it's not too much of a disappointment and there are still a bunch of you out there who are interested in reading this story! Leave me a review when you finish to share your thoughts with me!  
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**Chapter Seventeen**

She would be much better prepared this time. There would be no surprises.

As the Hunter crept along the rooftops and approached the more central part of the city her eyes darted about almost constantly for signs of other life that might be that high up with her. No doubt the security at Powers Incorporated would be of a much higher grade than what she was accustomed to, so she would need to be on her guard at all times to ensure that she didn't take a single misstep that night.

She had left almost as soon as Donatello had gone from her apartment, not wanting to risk the idea that perhaps they would be watching her now. Raphael had already warned her about remaining as far away from Powers as possible, and now that Donatello had come with his own questions…she had to keep them at arm's length now. It was too great a risk for them to figure out what had happened and follow her there. She didn't want to think of what might happen if they were to be seen, for someone like Darien Powers would be instantly fascinated with the creatures that they had mutated into and would want them for his own nefarious purposes.

And that was something she would never allow to happen.

She shook her head quickly to clear her thoughts as she refocused her attentions on the building before her. There were sensors alright, she could tell without really seeing them. After all, it wouldn't be good to parade yourself as company that dealt primarily with power and electricity only to be found with other dangerous chemicals and hidden corridors on your hands. Powers would be very careful with making sure that his secrets didn't become public knowledge. All it would take was a single misstep to have an investigation begin, and if he didn't have the right funds or the right head to turn in the opposite direction his underground operations would become exposed. She didn't want to think of the chaos that would spread through the city if that were to happen, but she knew that she had to get in and destroy everything he had if there was a hope of preventing this from happening to someone else.

She couldn't let him tear another family apart like that.

As the plan slowly began to form in her head, Destiny moved slowly to a secondary corner of the rooftop and looked at the distance that lay between. It certainly wasn't going to be a small jump. Reaching her target was going to require a little extra help from her telekinetic abilities. But if she didn't get the timing right then she ran the risk of being spotted by someone who really wasn't supposed to see her. She couldn't risk being seen too early. Alerting anyone to her presence would mean jeopardizing her mission.

For nearly ten minutes she moved about from roof to roof, edging her way closer until she was able to find the shortest distance between two buildings and leap across the expanse. It was still a rather large distance that she needed to cover with her body, and she only managed it with the aid of her telekinetic abilities. She crouched low to the rooftop as she felt her feet come into contact with solid ground once more, her eyes darting around for any sign of life that might suddenly jump out at her. No doubt there were at least a couple of security cameras up there to monitor movement. She needed to get moving, and quickly…before they came to realize that she was there.

Scurrying across the rooftop she paused a few times to flatten her back against the various walls that she found on her way, stopping only long enough to look around her and make sure that she didn't hear anyone else approaching before she continued. There likely wasn't a whole lot of time left for her to get ahead. If Raphael knew even half of what she thought that he did then he was likely on his way already thanks to the warning that she had given Donatello. She should have known that they'd be too stubborn to just leave everything alone, she thought darkly. But they didn't understand. They had no idea of what she had been through because of Darien Powers…

With her brow knit into a tight frown the Hunter stalked her way to the furthest side of the roof, spotting a glass window ahead that protruded slightly from rooftop and would allow her to gain a better idea of where it was that she needed to go. Her approach was slow, filled with caution as she knelt down and pressed her fingertips lightly to the one pane of glass. When it gave way and slowly fell open to let her inside, the Hunter hesitated. It shouldn't do that…

"Come on in, child. Don't just stand there gawking."

The sound of the voice was enough to make her freeze, eyes flying wide as her head snapped sharply to look at the person who now spoke to her. A chill coursed down her spine when her eyes fell on his towering frame, noting the ease with which he stood in the middle of the floor and gazed up at her. He wasn't afraid. He knew that he still had some hold over her. And he was more than willing to flaunt it now when she had come back with the intent to destroy him and all of the work that he had done over the last several years.

When she realized that she had hesitated, the Hunter gave her head a quick jerk to rouse her senses once more and leapt through the window until she had landed with three points of contact on the cold tile floor. She pulled herself slowly to her feet once more, straightening her spine as much as she was able to try and put on a dominant persona that might give her the upper hand now that she had been spotted and lost her element of surprise. Her eyes surveyed him coldly, noting the changes in his appearance that betrayed the years that had passed. He was still large enough to loom over her without issue, his shoulders broad and strong even as he wore the white lab coat. There were touches of grey in his dark hair now, but aside from the odd line in his face there were precious few differences between the way he looked now and the way he had looked then.

"I was wondering when you might come back to visit," he said, his words almost taunting as his own eyes began to observe the differences in her body. "It's been quite some time, my dear."

"Not long enough," she barked in response.

The grin on his face widened a little as Power's click his tongue at her. "Now, now…is that anyway to speak to the man you owe your life to?"

"I don't owe you anything," the Hunter hissed. "This isn't a social call, Powers. I'm here to stop you from doing this to another family."

"Family?" The man paused, his hearty laughter echoing through the room as it bounced off of each hard surface and caused the young woman to cringe slightly beneath the safety of her mask. "I think you forget that you were alone when I found you, child. You _had_ no family-"

"Because you had them killed!"

"You were abandoned," he pressed forward, lifting his voice slightly so that he might interrupt her with ease. "Remember? Your parents couldn't handle caring for you and so they left you in an alleyway. I saved your life when I brought you here."

The memory came flooding back before Destiny had the chance to push it away. She had been only five years old when she had been abandoned, left to survive on her own in the chilly winter weather. Her only saving grace had been the fact that she hadn't been left completely alone. Still, the memories were painful to endure as she recalled how they had been forced to try and make themselves some kind of shelter from the harsh winds that had pushed through the streets, stealing food whenever possible so that they were not always forced to eat from the trash cans and dumpsters. Savannah had been nine years old then, and she could easily have decided that she was going to leave Destiny behind in order to save herself.

But she hadn't. Her older sister had instead been the caring maternal force that she had never before had in her life, insisting that the two of them would be okay as long as they stuck together. They did the best that they could in those circumstances, and never once did she hear Savannah complain of the struggles that she endured for the sake of the little sister that she loved so dearly. Even as she lay dying…her thoughts had only been for Destiny.

"You killed her," growled the masked vigilante. "You left us to die because you thought your experiments had failed."

"And look at you now," Powers told her quickly, a hint of amazement in his voice. "You are my greatest success. I have _seen_ what you can do, Destiny. And that is only the beginning! Within your genetic code is the key to future successes as well, the creation of other extraordinary individuals like yourself!"

"No!"

Despite the fierceness in her tone, Powers seemed rather undaunted by her refusal. "No?" he asked her slowly, the corners of his mouth turning upward in a smile of amusement. "You say that as if you have a choice in the matter, my dear."

"I do," Destiny declared to him, ripping away her mask and throwing it aside so that she faced down her foe not as her vigilante counterpart, but as herself. As the monster that Frankenstein had created. "I have a choice. And I won't let you use me to hurt other people, Powers."

Before he could open his mouth for further words Destiny had raised one of her hands and thrown it away from her body, sending Powers flying across the room and crashing across a table of glass vials and chemicals. She gave him no time to recover before she was moving further into the room, the shards of broken glass crunching beneath her feet as she advanced on his fallen form and swiped at the air once more to send him swiftly into the nearest wall. The thud of contact rang through the lab, a wounded grunt sounding from Powers as a result. Yet it seemed that the mad man was not at all scared of her demonstration.

He seemed amused.

"You're stronger than I expected," he boasted for her, brushing a thumb against his lower lip to flick away the blood that had begun to appear. "It makes you feel powerful, doesn't it? Being able to control someone else like that? How can you deny what you really are?"

An angered cry ripped from her throat as Destiny kicked over a table in her rage. The contents spilled to the floor and began to mix with the mess that she had already created, catching fire as she knocked some of the more dangerous liquids aside. Again she threw Powers away with her telekinetic ability and watched as his body flew into yet another wall, his head slamming firmly against it.

But he was not yet finished. "You and I both know how this is going to end," he muttered darkly to her, looking upward with the same smile that taunted her every nerve. "Either I get what I want or you're going to have to kill me."

A poor choice of words, she thought. Her right hand shot toward him with an open palm, fingers slowly beginning to fill with tension and curl themselves inward to a more claw-like shape. Powers stared at her with wide eyes, hands flying to his throat as he struggled to breathe and found his body slowly being lifted until his feel were no longer connected to the laboratory floor. His eyes began to bulge slightly at the lack of oxygen he was able to intake, staring at Destiny with a look that was void of any humour for the first time since her arrival. Now he was afraid…and that was exactly what she wanted.

She inched herself closer, her hand shaking from the struggle between her desire to kill him now and the part of her that wanted to make him suffer. Already she could feel the heat of the fire growing behind her, illuminating his shadow against the wall in such a haunting way that she couldn't help but figure that this was the end for the both of them. Frankenstein would be destroyed with his lab and his prized monster would be the one to ensure that it happened. No longer would she need to worry about attempting to fit herself into society when she knew that she didn't belong. No longer did she have to try and hide the freakish abilities that set her apart. And never again would Darien Powers be able to hurt another living soul as he had hurt her.

"Fitting, isn't it?" she asked him, her voice dark as she turned the tables and slowly began to taunt him in return. "They say a good captain always goes down with his ship…and it looks like you might finally get something right, Powers. It's going to end here, tonight. You and me….this will be the end of it."

"Destiny!"

Her head snapped around at the sound of his voice, startled to see him standing behind her despite the obvious dangers he was in. With one hand still holding tightly to Powers, the other quickly came up in defense and keep a distance between them.

"This is my fight, not yours," she called to him, taking a few tiny steps backward. "You have to get out of here, Raphael, before you get hurt."

"I'm not leavin' without you!"

"Yes, you are!" she cried back at him, her resolve beginning to weak a little as he inched toward her with both hands raised. "I told you before that this has nothing to do with you!"

"Destiny, think about this," he pleaded with her, lifting his voice over the roar of the fire that was beginning to engulf the laboratory. "Think about what you're doing! Don't you think that this is exactly what Powers wants? All that time you spent thinkin' that you were a monster…those were his thoughts, not yours! You're not dangerous, you're not a freak and I _know_ that you're not a killer."

The brunette shook her head, desperate to block out his words. "You don't know what you're talking about!"

"But I _do_," Raphael insisted passionately, taking his chance to inch a few more steps toward her despite the fact that she was still on guard against him. "I told you that I know more than you realize…I was there, alright? I saw them dump you back in that alley when they thought you were a failure. I saw you struggle to deal with your powers when they started to appear…and I saw how much it killed you to lose her."

The turtle paused, steeling himself for his next thought. "Des…Savannah wouldn't want you to do this."

Destiny stared at him in wide eyed shock. "How-"

"You know I'm right."

As he had delivered his speech, the turtle had slowly put himself within arm's reach of the girl, careful to not yet touch her in case that triggered her fear and caused her to hurt either herself or Powers in the process. The man was breathing a little more evenly now that her focus wasn't directly solely on him, but that wasn't Raphael's main concern anymore. He had her attention and he needed to make sure that he kept it.

If she realized that she was crying she made no effort to remove the tears from her cheeks, but continued to stare at Raphael in disbelief. There was no possible way that he could know any of that, her mind was screaming at her. And yet he had spoken her sister's name aloud, and she knew that she hadn't been imagining things. Savannah…that was what he had said. Her chest tightened around her heart as she stood there, blinking quickly when her mind refocused on her surroundings and the towering flames that were beginning to engulf the entire lab. An explosion sounded somewhere behind Raphael, causing the two of them to flinch as they both moved to avoid being hit. But it was growing hot, unbearably so. She needed to make a decision.

Destiny's head snapped around to Powers, her hand dropping back to her side as his body connected harshly with the floor once more. "Get out," she hissed at him. "Before I change my mind."

Powers wasted no time before he picked himself off of the floor and bolted for the doorway that had yet to be blocked by the flames or falling debris. Pieces of tile now littered the floor as they fell from the ceiling, wires now visible and beginning to burn as well from the heat. With her prey now gone from her grasp, Destiny felt her shoulders slump forward. This was it, she decided. Even if she didn't get Darien Powers she wasn't going to allow him to try and abuse her anymore.

"Go," she told Raph steadily, avoiding his eye. "Before you're trapped in here."

"Kid, I'm not leavin' without you."

"I won't be used anymore!" she cried. "I won't allow him to hurt other people through me!"

But the turtle would not be swayed. "So be better than him! Think about all of the good things that you've done with your powers over the last eight years! You saved Leo, didn't ya? And how many other people owe you big time for savin' them?"

"Please," he begged her, gripping her upper arms in his two strong hands as he brought her focus back to his face for the first time. "I ain't the beggin' kind Des, but please don't make me watch you do this."

She didn't know what it was that prompted her to nod. Maybe it was the look in his eyes, or perhaps the fact that he was still standing in that building with her even though it continued to burn around them. As much as she wanted to say no and force him to leave without her she knew that she couldn't do it. Her heart squeezed again under Raphael's intense stare, but finally the brunette nodded to him. And the turtle wasted no time in scooping her up into his arms before he started searching for a way back to the open window through which they had both come.

It didn't surprise her to hear the voices of his brothers calling out to him, desperate that they both make their way out before the room collapsed completely and they risked being trapped inside. Her eyes began to droop a little at the combination of exhaustion and smoke inhalation that overtook her body. For a few more moments she struggled to keep herself awake, trying to decide which blurry vision belonged to each of the brothers before she was forced to finally give up. She could hear someone call out her name, but the voice was just too distant to place. Was that Leo who was calling to her? Or was it Raphael screaming at her to remain awake as he held her in his arms? No, it almost sounded like Donatello…

Then there was only darkness.


	18. Chapter 18

**This chapter took far longer to write out then it should have, and I apologize to everyone for the long wait! I'm hoping to complete this story within the next little while and begin work on the next one, which will continue from where we leave off in this fic. Please leave me a review to let me know what you think when you're finished! I'd love to hear your thoughts on the relationships between characters...especially after this chapter.  
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**Chapter Eighteen**

She woke with a start, shooting up from the couch so quickly that she flung the cloth on her forehead away and caused those who hovered around her to tense in shock. Her eyes were wide, her breathing a little uneven still as the memories of her encounter with Powers came flooding back. She remembered the way that he had taunted her, the way he had tried to make her feel more like the monster she had believed herself to be. Then the fire, the intense anger that had taken over her body as she contemplated ending the life of the man who had created her. And Raphael…

"Easy," Donnie murmured calmly to her, watching the rapid rise and fall of her chest with some concern in his dark brown orbs. "Take a deep breath, Des…"

Silent tears began to course down her cheeks as she looked upward, finding Raphael's face among the turtles and feeling her heart squeeze tightly in her chest. Leo quickly moved to sit behind her, a hand coming to rest on her shoulder as her shoulders slumped forward. But Raphael slowly lowered himself onto the couch at her feet, a hand reaching out with hesitance to settle against her knee.

"I'm sorry, Des."

"You knew," she whispered, inhaling a breath that made her chest rattle as she struggled with her growing emotions. "You knew her name….how is that even possible?"

The room fell into an uncomfortable silence as Raphael turned his head away from her, his jaw tightening considerably. It was clear that he wasn't keen on sharing those details, and perhaps he never had. The looks of confusion that he got from his brothers told her that he had been keeping this secret from them for such a long time that he had likely never mentioned it at all. The secret had just become a part of him, as so many had become a part of her. But she needed to know, she just _had_ to know how it was that Raphael had known to say the name of the sister that she had lost so many years ago.

It was Master Splinter who moved around the side of the couch at that time, laying a clawed hand upon the shoulder of his more rebellious son. "Raphael…"

The turtle sighed heavily, knowing that he had no choice. "It was eight years ago," he confessed quietly. "Leo and I had had another argument, and I was mad. I needed to get out of the lair…so I went to the one place I knew I could without having to worry about running into anyone. I went topside."

Mikey leaned over the back of the couch, hands digging into the fabric as his eyes grew wide. "Dude…"

"I wasn't paying any attention to where I was going. I just stuck to the shadows and moved as far and fast as I could until I knew that there was no one else around me. I might have kept going if I hadn't heard the shouting in the alleyway."

He paused, inhaling a slow breath. "There were a couple of thugs makin' trouble, and I could hear a girl callin' out for them to leave. I didn't think twice…I just knew that someone was in trouble and that I couldn't let it go. I thought that maybe beatin' on some bullies might help me to get rid of the anger. When I got there, there were two young girls bein' threatened by three or four bigger guys. I didn't have any weapons, but I dealt with them easily enough."

Donatello shifted a little from where he knelt on the floor, having been the one to administer the cool cloth to Destiny's forehead in the time that she had been unconscious. He was well aware of the damage that Raphael could cause when he was angry like that. As the more aggressive of the four brothers he often did the most damage to the training equipment in the dojo, and despite his best efforts to keep everything in working condition, Donnie had often had to replace the punching bag after Raph and Leo had had another one of their fights.

"The older girl was really badly beaten up…but she was still on her feet. The younger one was half conscious and fightin' to stay awake when she lashed out at me."

Very carefully he turned his head, pointing to the scar on the side of his cheek. "She gave me this…because she couldn't really see me in the dark, and she was scared. She didn't make any kind of physical contact with me when she did it, but it was the last thing she did before she passed out."

For the first time since initially sitting down, Raphael turned his dark gaze toward Destiny. "It was you, kid."

"It was _you_," she countered quietly.

The turtle nodded in confirmation, his eyes now locked on her face as he registered the shocked expression that she wore. The memory seemed to come flooding back to her before his eyes, and Raphael quickly found that his body grew tense as he waited for further words to be spoke. He hadn't thought that she would remember. At the time, Destiny had been in very poor condition. Yet there had been absolutely nothing that Raphael could do for her without exposing himself more than he already had.

"You were the one who saved us."

Again, Raphael nodded. "Savannah wasn't all that quick to trust me, but when I tried to help as much as I could she came around. We, uh…kept an eye on you while you were out. We sorta became friends then."

At this, the turtle glanced cautiously toward his sensei. Eight years ago the brothers had been expressly forbidden to go anywhere near the human world, because Master Splinter knew that their differences would be too great for the human race to accept. They weren't strong enough at that point to handle the heavy sting of rejection and ridicule that would certainly appear if they were exposed. They hadn't even been trained enough to be permitted to hold onto their weapons outside of their specific training sessions with the rat. And Raphael was certain that there would be some kind of disapproval or anger flashing in the eyes of his father now that his disobedience had been revealed.

But in the eyes of the rat, there was nothing of the kind. Instead there seemed to be a compassionate understanding as he nodded quietly at Raphael in an attempt to encourage him to tell the rest of his tale. In his heart he knew that he was somewhat unsurprised that it had been Raphael who had disobeyed his command all those years ago and started off the chain reaction of events that brought them to this point. His anger was something that the turtle continued to struggle with, even now. He was as much of a leader as Leonardo was, yet it was his impulsive nature that often had Master Splinter questioning if he was yet ready to put those skills to the test.

Somewhat comforted by his father's reaction, Raphael sighed heavily and turned his gaze to the floor, his hand slowly falling away from Destiny's knee. "I asked her not to tell you," he admitted quietly. "She seemed to handle it alright, but…you were pretty young. Or at least that was the excuse we used. Savannah didn't want to scare you anymore than you already were. And then…"

Here he paused, sighing heavily as he squeezed his eyes shut and leaned into his hands. "I wasn't fast enough," he whispered bitterly. "Those thugs came after her again because they had seen her out in the park, tryin' to find somethin' for you guys to eat. They attacked her…like the way Hun attacked you the night I brought you down here. But I wasn't fast enough. I didn't get there in time to save her. All I could do was hover nearby when I saw that you were with her and listen to her die."

Destiny pressed a hand tightly against her mouth, her body leaning heavily forward as she fought back the sob that threatened to her rise in her throat. She could recall that night so vividly that it felt like it had happened only a short while ago instead of eight long years. But all at once she could remember it all with perfect clarity.

Being put in her hiding place and instructed not to move until Savannah returned. The scream that had sounded and initially alerted Destiny that something was wrong. The way she had quickly forgotten her sister's instructions and been forced to watch as the gang of people surrounding her sister removed their knives and fled before the police could be notified. The amount of blood that had poured from each stab wound as Savannah struggled to breathe, clinging to what remained of her life even as her little sister ran to her side and held her.

"There will always be someone watching out for you," her sister had vowed with her dying breath, lifting her sparkling blue orbs to the sky even though the view was obstructed by an overhanging tree. "I swear…"

Now she understood what Savannah had been talking about. She hadn't just been talking about becoming an angel and watching over her from heaven the way that most people spoke of loved ones who died. She had been talking about Raphael. She had seen him in the tree branches above her.

And she had bound him to be Destiny's guardian with her dying breath.

It all made so much sense now. The presence that she had felt watching her all that time when she had picked up her vigilante mantle of the "Hunter" and how Raph had known about Powers…he had learned it all from Savannah. The sister who had been by her side from the moment they were abandoned by their parents, and then dumped as failed experiments in the alleyway by Powers, had told him everything. It also explained why he had been in the park the night that he had rescued her from Hun and the Purple Dragon. And why it was that he hadn't hesitated to bring her down to the lair.

Tears flowed freely down her cheeks as Destiny trembled on the couch. Leo's strong arms quickly wrapped around her in a gentle hug to try and ease her mind a little, and the young woman found herself clinging to him in a way that she had never before allowed herself to cling to another living person. When she had lost Savannah, she had only been nine years old. She had been but a child, lost and alone in the world. She likely would have died on the streets herself if fate hadn't offered her one little reprieve…

"All these years…you've been living with that, haven't you?"

Donatello looked at his older brother with an expression of wonder, unable to fathom how he had kept such a dark secret to himself for so long. To have lived each and every single day with that on your conscience, knowing that there was nothing you could have done in order to save the one person who knew of your existence and understood you…it hurt Donnie just to think about it. That would be like losing April or Casey…or Destiny, he thought to himself. Though he knew that she had been there only a short time, she had come to feel like someone he had known his entire life. She understood them on a level that neither April nor Casey could.

She knew what it was like to be different. She knew what it felt like not to properly belong.

Mikey shook his head, looking back and forth between Destiny and Raphael. "Dude…why would you torture yourself like that?"

Though the tension in the room seemed to increase slightly at the youngest turtle's question, there wasn't a single doubt from anyone that they were all wondering the same thing. Raphael had kept his secret, and his bond, well. But at what personal cost?

"I ain't sayin' I did the right thing all the time," pressed the red masked turtle. "There were moments when I knew I should have done somethin' different. But I did what Savannah asked me to do as best as I could."

A short silence overtook the room.

"You acted honourably, my son," Master Splinter assured him gently, pressing his hand a little more firmly against Raphael's shoulder. "You respected the wishes of a dying friend who kept your secret and provided you, at least for a time, with the companionship you needed…but I think that it has come at a price. You have kept your secret for too long…"

Turning his head, Raph looked toward Destiny with a gaze that immediately betrayed his regret and sadness. "Des…I'm so sorry…"

All eyes seemed to turn to the small, trembling figure who was still held in Leonardo's arms. She had made no effort to move since initially waking up, and she seemed to be staring at Raph with a wide set gaze that almost made it look as if she were peering right _through_ him instead. Her shoulders shook as the silent sobs worked their way through her body.

"Eight years," she managed. "Eight years of feeling like I was all alone and you _never_…you just _watched_…"

A look of shame overtook the turtle's face. "I didn't know what else to do. We were kids, Des…I was scared too. Savannah saw me on accident and she was so sure that you would freak-"

But he got no further. Destiny had pushed herself out of Leo's embrace and jumped over Donatello's body before anyone could react. And though each of the four turtles called out to her in the hopes of bringing her back, all of their cries fell on deaf ears. They all made as if to follow her, but it was Master Splinter's firm order that kept them all in place and forced them to watch helplessly as she fled from the lair and disappeared once more. There was a new tension that fell into the room then. Each brother wanted to go after her, yet none dared to disobey their master this time.

Master Splinter turned, watching his four sons with a firm stare. "She needs to be given space to process this and grieve," he instructed them, his tone leaving no room for argument. "She has only just discovered things that have been kept from her for almost half of her life. And I believe that her encounter with Powers has shaken her as well. You are not to go near her without my permission…is that understood?"

"Yes, sensei."

That was the end of the discussion.


	19. Chapter 19

**I couldn't wait to post this one. It was sort of begging to be written and I think it was necessary to help move things along a little. I'd love to hear what you guys think!  
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**Chapter Nineteen**

Destiny sobbed herself to sleep that night.

For almost two weeks she remained inside her apartment, moving only when she needed to as she proceeded to shut out the world around her. She had been gone for so long now that the media outlets were starting to comment on the lack of activity they were seeing with the resident vigilante, wondering if there was a connection between them and the incident at Powers Incorporated a few weeks back. Or perhaps they had been killed by a street gang because they had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. With no clear evidence to determine things either way, everything was mere speculation. They knew nothing of the teenaged girl who had once worn the mask and now struggled to understand how her life had fallen together the way it had.

In that time, Destiny hadn't ventured outside the walls of her apartment as she usually might have. There were no nights sitting on the rooftop as she looked up at the moon and stars. There were no trips out to the quieter areas of the park where she could sit in solitude and think. And there were only four people who knew of how little she moved during that two week period. They didn't approach her, however, as they had been ordered not to…

But that didn't stop them from watching on the nearby rooftops.

"Anythin' yet?"

Leonardo slowly shook his head, his eyes never once leaving the window. She was sitting on the couch in the living room, a heavy sweater around her lean frame that was far too big for her. In her hand was a book that she had opened, but after several long minutes it was clear that she wasn't really reading its contents. The pages weren't being turned. Finally it seemed like she had given up on the whole idea and closed the book tightly, holding it against her chest and closing her eyes. He couldn't properly see from a distance to be sure, but Leo imagined that yet more tears were making their way down her cheeks in that moment.

Raphael sighed heavily, rubbing at his eyes again. "I should have just kept it to myself. She shouldn't have to suffer like this."

"You kept that secret for almost eight years, Raph. And that's not a little secret, like going topside. You involved yourself with a human," Leo said firmly, rising from where he knelt against the surface of the roof and turning at last to look at his younger brother. "Even if you walked away after her sister died, you'd be living with _that_ guilt instead. You weren't going to walk away unscathed, Raphael…there was no way you could."

But this answer didn't seem to satisfy the red masked turtle. "Look at her, Leo. She's broken…she's in more pain now than she has been in the last eight years."

Leo quickly shook his head. "No," he said firmly. "I don't believe that. I believe that her pain was always there, but that she pushed it as deeply as she could and buried it under her anger and her desire for revenge." He paused for a moment, considering his next choice of words. "In a way…the two of you aren't all that different from one another, Raph."

"Are you sayin' I have a desire for revenge?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

"What I'm saying is that while you two might be good at handling the physical pain, you bury the emotional stuff as much as you can because you're afraid to deal with it," Leo countered. "And I think it eats away at you, whether you want to admit it or not. She can't hide her pain anymore…and that scares her."

Loathe as he was to admit it, Raphael knew that his older brother was probably right. With the lifestyle that Destiny had ultimately chosen for herself he knew that it had simply been a way of managing her pain. The mask that she wore when she took to the streets at night in her vigilante costume was more than simply a means of concealing her identity. It hid her pain as well. It gave her something else to focus on at night so that she could somehow justify the dangers that she put herself in. By telling herself that she was working to get revenge she hoped to find some kind of solace at the end when all was said and done. And now that she had reached that point there was nothing else to hide behind.

She was vulnerable, exposed to the very emotions that she had tried so hard to push aside. And now that they were catching up to her, she was struggling to cope with eight long years of pent up grief and sadness and heartache.

When Raphael didn't respond, Leo found himself looking at his brother even more carefully. His gaze narrowed, scrutinizing the details of his face. "You probably shouldn't be here, Raph."

"I'm not goin' to leave her alone."

"She's not alone. I'm still keeping an eye on things."

"You've been here for more than five hours," Raph countered, narrowing his own gaze in defiance. "Sensei is going to start wonderin' where you are."

Leo rolled his eyes a little. "If he knew that we were taking shifts up here and watching her, we'd be back in the hashi before you could say _Foot Clan_."

It was irritating to know that once again, Leo was right. When Master Splinter gave them a direct order they were generally pretty good at obeying. But each time they were discovered to have gone against his wishes, they spent a great deal of time in the hashi as punishment. The last time they had been there, it had been because he had discovered that they had gone above ground without his consent and exposed themselves to a human. Thankfully, that human had been April and she had ended up becoming the ally that they had never thought they would have. This time however, Master Splinter was likely to come up with something else…not only were they disobeying a direct order, but they were putting themselves at risk of exposure by being on the rooftops. And though none of them would say it, they also risked forcing themselves upon Destiny before she was ready to see them again.

And at this point, none of the four brothers wanted to lose the friendship that they had found in her.

After a long moment of staring one another down, Leonardo finally conceded with a heavy sigh. Ordinarily he knew that he would have fought with Raph until he won…but this time he felt the need to drop out before it got out of hand. There was no one else around who might put an end to their dispute, and if Destiny were to see them because they were too busy arguing there was no telling what kind of repercussions that might have. No, he was better off to just let Raph have his way this time.

"Fine," the elder brother muttered at last. "Mikey will be up here in a few hours."

He knew that Raph meant well in this instance. But truth be told, Leo wasn't entirely sure that he trusted his little brother right now. Only a short while ago he had confessed to holding back a secret that explained how Destiny had come to be a part of their lives before any of them really knew that the other had existed. He carried the death of a friend on his shoulders, and though they were broad it was doubtful that they were truly wide enough to carry that weight for the rest of his life.

Raphael rolled his eyes, arms folded tightly over his chest. "Quit fussin' like a mother hen, okay? I'll be fine. Just go before you blow our cover."

At the risk of delaying his arrival back at the lair, Leo chose not to comment. Instead he turned on his heel and hurried off the roof, leaping off the edge and flipping in the air before he headed for the next roof and carried on his way. Within twenty seconds he had disappeared from sight, and Raphael could finally focus on the task that he had set for himself that night. He knew what he had been told. And he knew that if this backfired, there would be consequences for his actions…consequences that would affect his brothers as well as himself. But it was something that he felt he absolutely needed to do as his dark gaze looked down at the smaller figure who still lay curled up on the couch. He had been the one to hurt her. He needed to be the one who tried to fix things.

For ten long and agonizing minutes he waited to ensure that he was alone, letting the shadows of the night begin to overtake the sky before Raphael finally allowed himself to move. It was now or never, he thought. By no means did he consider himself to be a coward, but he was painfully aware of the fact that if he didn't go now, his courage would probably fail him.

One step at a time, the turtle thought to himself as he inched his way closer to her.

As he crept down the fire escape he took a moment to pause within the shadows, allowing himself to assess the scene that he was about to enter. Through the window he could still see her curled up on the couch with her eyes closed, her body hidden away beneath the heavy sweater that she seemed to drown in more than wear. Her hair was pulled away from her face and up into a messy bun at the back of her head, the odd piece having fallen loose at her neck. It had some curl in it, Raphael thought to himself. He hadn't noticed it before.

The window before him was open just a little bit, enough that the turtle could easily slip a hand beneath it and make a wider space for his body to slip through. But was it worth the risk? The slight movements in her chest told him that she was asleep for the moment and that he could probably make his way inside without waking her. His ego certainly said that he could get in there undetected. It was his heart that stopped him from moving right away, that kept him rooted on the spot for a few more moments before his head finally caught up with him. He needed to get under cover again before someone saw him. He had already come this far…

His hand slipped beneath the partially open window with ease as he pushed it open and allowed himself to step through, closing it again with the same silence as before. His eyes turned slowly to the couch to see if Destiny had stirred at all. She was still asleep.

Despite his size, Raphael didn't make a sound as he stepped across the living room toward her, looking down at her smaller form to assess the image that he saw. She looked so much the same and yet so different, he thought. In her sleep there was a peace about her that he knew wasn't present during her waking hours, a serenity that she had probably never known in her life. Yet there were the tell-tale signs of fallen tears still evident against her cheeks, her skin oddly pale and her body curled up as if to shut out the vulnerability that she felt. There was no look of confidence about her now. There was no sigh to betray that this girl operated as a vigilante by night.

There was only the look of a broken teenage girl.

He didn't know what power overtook him in that moment, but Raphael found himself reaching out to gently touch her cheek with his hand before he could stop himself. And he regretted the action almost immediately, for as soon as his skin made contact with hers she was awake, eyes flying wide and head snapping around to look at him in sheer terror. Her entire body jumped and made as if to pull away from him in her fright, causing the turtle to instantly retract his hand and hold it palm out to show that he meant her no harm.

"Easy kid," he told her as gently as he could. "Easy…it's just me."

"R-Raph?"

Even though she now recognized the figure that knelt on the floor beside her she did her best to pull away from him, something that was not lost on the turtle. He deserved it though, he reminded himself firmly. He would have to be a damn fool to think otherwise after the way she had run from the lair a few weeks back.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him quickly.

The turtle breathed a heavy sigh, dropping his gaze to the floor. "We haven't heard anythin' from you in weeks. I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Well, I'm not."

She had hopped over the back of the couch and put more distance between them before Raphael could blink. If the situation had been better he might have allowed himself to smirk at just how quickly she moved, thinking about the ease and grace that accompanied the twists and turns of her body. But he knew that there was absolutely no room for such thoughts now. Not when his heart was beating so painfully under the scornful gaze that she gave him. He didn't need to be a genius to sense that she was angry. It was an emotion that Raphael was quite familiar with since he experienced it almost on a regular basis.

This was just a little different though. This time the anger was directed right back at him and it wasn't coming from Leo, the brother with whom he most often fought. This time it came from someone he had worked hard to protect over the last nine years, someone who had never known that he was almost always lurking in the nearby shadows. Someone he had dared to let himself consider a friend.

"How could you?" she demanded of him, her body rigid as she clenched her hands in tight fists at her side. "How could you do that? You saw everything, Raphael…you _knew_ what I went through…"

"I knew. But I also knew that you couldn't handle it, Des," the turtle countered in his own firm tone, rising slowly back to his feet again. "You were so broken up when you lost Savannah that you were almost suicidal. You were out there lookin' for fights, practically _beggin'_ for someone to kill you too. And there were only two reasons that you didn't get your way. Because I was watchin' from the shadows and because your powers started to show up."

Destiny shook with fury, but she didn't deny that his words were untrue. When her sister had been killed, the nine year old girl had been absolutely terrified. They had both been abandoned by their parents in the middle of New York City. Then they had been harassed and bullied by a number of people before they were kidnapped by Powers and used as experiments for his genetic testing. When it was decided that they were failed specimens, they had once again been dumped in an alleyway and left to die. And when Savannah had been killed…

All she had wanted to do was crawl under the earth and die right along with her.

Tears began to make their way down her cheeks again. "You should have just let them kill me."

"You know I couldn't do that."

"Why not?" the brunette demanded hotly. "Was it just too much fun to watch the freak struggle? Did you get some sort of sick satisfaction out of watching my heart break?"

The turtle grit his teeth in frustration. "That's not fair-"

"No? Then what the hell was it, Raph? You said you saw everything! You saw how much it killed me to lose her! You saw how badly my powers scared me when I couldn't control them! You saw how many tears I cried because I was alone and scared, but you never did anything about it! You just watched!"

He closed the distance between them so quickly that Destiny hardly hard time to react. His arms were around her as he held her tightly against his chest, her closed fists weakly attempting to beat him back before she gave into the heavy sobs that echoed through the apartment. But Raphael would not be moved. He endured the half-hearted beating until she was crying too hard to do anything else but cling to him, closing his eyes tightly against the building threat of his own tears. Raphael was the fighter. He was not usually one to cry. But the pain that he felt in his chest right then was beyond almost anything that he had ever felt before in his life.

For several long minutes he continued to hold her, supporting her when it seemed that her knees might give out beneath her. He waited through every agonizing sob that fell from her lips until her energies were spent and she grew quieter, feeling every shake in her shoulders and intake of air that moved through her chest.

"I'm sorry," he murmured at last, leaning over her a little as if his body alone might be enough to help shield her from the pain. "It wasn't supposed to happen like this, Des…none of it. I should have been there to save Savannah. And maybe I should have told you sooner…but I was scared. Just like you were scared of your powers and what you could do and how people would treat you…I blamed myself for her death and I knew that you would do the same."

Raphael swallowed the lump in his throat, taking a slow breath that might help to calm his pounding heart. "The only thing she ever wanted was to make sure you were okay. When she saw me that night…she begged me to keep you safe if anything ever happened to her. And I couldn't say no. Not after I saw the look in her eyes and I-"

The words stopped, the turtle gritting his teeth suddenly and giving his head a firm shake. No, he wouldn't do that to her. Not now. Not when he had already done so much damage by telling her the truth. He would keep this from her, for his own sake. Destiny need never know the thoughts that had been on his mind that night because they would surely have frightened her more.

"I miss her so much…"

He tightened his arms around her a little bit more. "I know, kid. I miss her too."

Another pause. "Why did you come after me?"

Without asking he knew that she was questioning him about the night she had gone after Powers. With the building around them being engulfed in flames, knowing full well that she could have forced him to turn around and leave her behind…he had stayed. He had begged her to come back with him, using the knowledge he had of her sister in order to shock her senses into compliance. It hadn't been the plan, of course. As soon as Donatello had called him he had known what she was going to do and had raced off to try and beat her there, ready to ignore any and all chances that he might be seen by someone along the way. And he had revealed himself to Powers…another dangerous move on his part.

Raph breathed a heavy sigh, letting his arms loosen just a little bit. "I promised her I would watch out for you," he told her quietly. "But I'd already lost one friend. The idea that I could lose you too was somethin' I couldn't handle. And I knew that if I just let you go, I'd regret it for the rest of my life."

A friend, he thought to himself. It was a luxury that he had been sure neither he nor his brothers would ever have in life. They were just too different. The average human being would have run as far and fast in the opposite direction as possible if they had seen the four brothers coming, screaming about the "monsters" that were making their way into the city. Was it the truth? Not even close. He had seen humans do things that were far more monstrous than anything the brothers had done in their lives. Yet they would have been rejected, _they _would have been the freaks that everyone feared and wanted gone. They would have been hunted down and attacked without hesitation…all because they were different.

Savannah had been the one person to treat him as if he were normal. Well, in a sense. She had been scared of him at first as well, but the adrenaline had been pumping through her veins from the initial attack that started long before Raphael came into the picture. And though she had been hesitant to trust him she had eventually done so. Their friendship had been a secret from the rest of the world, including the little sister that she had sworn to protect, but it had been the one thing that allowed Raph an escape from his everyday life. It had been the little glow of light at the end of the tunnel, proof that it was possible for he and his brothers to find a place in the world that existed above their heads. Her death had nearly killed that hope within him…

Until the day he first sat down with Destiny and realized that she wasn't afraid of him either.

Green fingers slowly stroked the soft dark locks of hair at the back of her head in a soothing gesture. Though whether this was for his benefit or hers, he didn't know. Raph couldn't even remember having started to do it. But he felt the way her body began to relax a little in his arms, the sharp press of her fingers around him fading to something much gentler than before. She wasn't clinging as she had before, though the desperate attempt to retain some form of contact between them was certainly still present. He didn't need to be able to read her mind to know that she didn't want to be alone…that she _couldn't_ be alone.

The turtle leaned back a little until his shell came into contact with the edge of the island, focusing his energies less on supporting himself and more on supporting her. He had seen quite a bit in the time that he had been silently watching her from the shadows, but even in those darkest moments he felt sure that she had never been this beaten down. Even lying unconscious on the couch in the lair was nothing compared to this, he thought. This went beyond the physical pain that she had endured over the last several years. These wounds were not ones that could be seen, and as a result they were a lot harder to heal. Much like him, she had done her best to push them aside, burying them deep down until she thought that they might be far enough away that she wouldn't have to deal with them. But when they forced their way back up to the surface again they were almost unbearable.

"I'm sorry," he repeated quietly.

"Thank you…"

Raphael looked down at her, blinking in slight confusion. "For what?"

As she lifted her tear stained face, he could see the redness in her eyes with renewed clarity. There was still a pain etched within those dark brown eyes, but it had lessened now. She didn't look as despondent and broken as before.

"For keeping me alive," she told him, lifting her head a little more so that she could establish eye contact with him. "For being there when my sister needed someone. For being her friend…"

She moved as if to hang her head when the fresh wave of tears threatened to spill from her eyes, but the turtle caught her chin gently with the ends of his fingers before she could get too far. Now there was surprise in her eyes as she blinked upward at him in confusion. He didn't say anything, nor did he move. He just watched her for a long moment, his gaze unreadable. The idea of prying into his thoughts just that little bit didn't even occur to Destiny as she stood there in his embrace, her heart beginning to pound in her chest for reasons she couldn't pinpoint. Her own mind just felt like a hazy mess right then. She couldn't think straight.

Then his hand moved and Raphael gently brought her head back down to rest against his chest, stroking her hair quietly for the second time that night. The teenager relaxed in his arms and closed her eyes as she listened to the steady beat of his heart. They didn't say anything else to one another…they just remained like that until Raphael knew that it was too dangerous for him to stay any longer without being discovered. But by the time he left it was clear to them both that the healing process had begun. And their bond had been strengthened.


	20. Chapter 20

**Another million and one apologies that this chapter took me so long to post. Hopefully you guys are still hanging around waiting for its conclusion, which I think will be coming in the next chapter or two. Once this one is done, I will begin working on the next story in this arc... "Donatello's Dream." Leave me a review when you're finished reading to tell me what you think. Thanks guys!  
**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty**

"That's not fair!"

Leonardo rolled his eyes a little. "Life isn't fair, Mikey. You need to concentrate…"

As the youngest turtle continued to rub at the place on his arm where Leo's blow had landed, the elder brother was busy trying not to groan in frustration. They had been at this for nearly an hour now, and every few minutes it seemed that their sparring session was brought to a halt because Michelangelo simply wasn't focused on what he was doing. Leo was able to land his blows with far more ease than normal, and Mikey didn't even seem remotely interested in taunting him the way he usually did.

Everything had been different over the last few weeks, tensions running higher than normal between the brothers as they all struggled to comprehend the new reality that they were confronted with. Master Splinter had spent several hours in his room with Raphael, listening as his son recounted the entire story to him a second time. No one had dared to approach the room until their brother had emerged, but even then they didn't have the opportunity to speak to him. Raphael had immediately left the lair and gone out on his own. And their sensei was quick to tell his remaining three sons that they needed to give Raphael the same space that they were giving Destiny so that he too could process things.

"If you don't focus you're not going to get any better."

"You're not training Leo," the younger turtle shot at him with an accusatory glare. "You're taking your frustrations out on me and it hurts!"

Leo frowned darkly. "Is that what you think I'm doing?"

"I know that's what you're doing!"

"Fine."

Swords were sheathed again before further words could be spoken as Leonardo stormed out of the room, making his way through the lair and down the corridor that would take him to his bedroom. From his place at the computer desk, Donatello watched the exchange with fear etched into the depths of his dark brown orbs. What was happening? All of a sudden it seemed that none of them could stand to be so close to one another, a thought that shook him to his core. The family that they had was small…only a handful of people were permitted to come within their family unit. Had they made a mistake in bringing Destiny into it?

Donnie cringed when he heard Mikey's nunchuks hit the floor at his feet as he threw them in anger and stalked off to the living room, sitting heavily on the couch. He folded his arms tightly over his chest and turned his head away so as to avoid any form of eye contact with the others, breathing heavily as if he were trying to calm himself down. Mikey wasn't the type to get angry, Donnie thought to himself. Not like this…not in a way that reminded him so much of Raphael when he was holding onto his emotions too closely.

"Mikey-"

"What?" snapped the younger turtle as he rounded on his brother. "Are you going to tell me that I'm not trying too?"

But Donatello was quick to shake his head, holding his hands in front of him to show that he meant no harm. "No!" he told his little brother quickly. "No, not at all! I just…" The turtle breathed a heavy sigh. "I don't like to see us fight one another….that's all."

Mikey's anger slowly began to vanish as he watched his older brother, shoulders slumping forward slightly. "I'm sorry, Donnie. This whole thing with Des just has me so freaked out."

"Freaked out how?" Donnie asked him.

The orange masked turtle dropped his eyes and shrugged his shoulders a little. "I dunno," he sighed. "It just doesn't feel right, ya know? I feel really bad about all the stuff she went through. I don't like that Raph lied to us about her. And it just…it just feels wrong."

"Would you rather I go?"

Both heads turned with a snap as they stared at the entrance way of the lair, the very same place through which she had run almost two and a half weeks before. She looked better now though. There were no bandages, cuts or bruises immediately noticeable on her skin, and though she was certainly pale and showed evident signs of not having slept well, she didn't look as beaten up as the other times she had been down there. Her hair was clean and hanging freely around her shoulders. She wore a pair of jean leggings and a dark grey long sleeve that hugged her every curve, along with a pair of light brown cowboy boots that cut off around the ankle. She was every inch the seventeen year old teenaged girl that everyone else might have expected her to be…not at all like the masked vigilante that they knew made up the other half of her personality.

The look on her face was suddenly filled with caution though as she looked between the two brothers with wide set eyes. She made as if to step backward and perhaps leave the lair altogether, but Mikey jumped to his feet and stretched out his hands, indicating that he didn't want her to go.

"No, Des…that's not what I meant-"

"But you're right," she cut him off gently, leaning against the edge of the wall a little and using it to partially hide her body behind. "You guys probably didn't have any problems at all until I showed up, did you?"

Donatello was on his feet in an instant. "We had problems," he assured her. "We're brothers. We're always going to fight."

"But Des, you brought something else into this family that we didn't really have before," Michelangelo pressed. "We…we've never had anyone else who understands what it's like to be different. Not like this."

The purple masked turtle nodded slowly, taking a few more steps toward her until he was standing close enough to reach out and touch her shoulder with his green hand. She didn't flinch. She didn't draw away. Those were the two things that Donatello noticed immediately as she looked at him with a sadness in her eyes that cut into his heart. But it was the only emotion that he could read.

He gently squeezed her shoulder as he looked at her, ducking his eyes for a moment with a soft sigh. "The truth is, I don't think any of us realized that we needed someone like you in our lives until you were gone."

Destiny tilted her head, clearly confused. "Like what?"

"A friend."

Was it the word that struck a nerve within her or was it the sincere tone of voice that he used when he spoke? Destiny wasn't entirely sure which, but within the span of a few seconds she found herself moving to slip her arms around Donatello's chest, her head pressed close to his heart as she held on tightly. There was a moment of shock that registered in the turtle's face, then he too was wrapping her in an embrace. He wasn't exactly the most physical of the four brothers, preferring to work with logistics and facts before he resulted to his physicality. The truth of the matter was that Donatello wasn't really secure in a lot of things…and his greatest strength was in his ability to think ahead or find a solution to a problem. That was what really allowed him to contribute to the team that the brothers formed.

But in that moment he felt that there was something more than that to him…something that made him feel a little more like he was part of the team and not just the "smart one." In a way…he almost felt like he was normal.

With a bit of a squeeze, Destiny slowly began to pull away from him and Donnie took that as his signal to let go. The fear was gone from her eyes, and instead there was an ease that he didn't think he had ever seen in the time that he had known her personally. A soft smile appeared in the corner of her mouth as she stepped back and looked around her, clearly searching for someone or something in particular.

"Is Leo around?"

Mikey ducked his head, looking a little ashamed. "I think he's in his room. I kinda yelled at him…"

She crossed the distance between them in a few quick steps, laying a hand against his cheek and bringing his face toward her so that she could brush her lips against the opposite side of his face. "I'll go talk to him. Don't worry…it'll all be alright."

The colour that rose in Michelangelo's cheeks at that moment was unmistakable, and Destiny giggled softly when she saw it. She couldn't resist shooting him a bit of a wink before she let him go, and was rewarded with an awkward shuffling of his feet. Suddenly all of his courage seemed to fail him when it came to the human girl in the room. But like his brother he watched her head down toward the corridor that would lead her to their eldest brother, wondering if she might actually be able to remedy the situation at all. Leo had been so unpredictable lately that it was almost impossible to tell how he might react to her knocking on his curtain door.

That same feeling of nervousness was roaming around in her stomach like loose butterflies, but she knew that she couldn't allow herself to chicken out now. She had come this far, hadn't she? He was the last of the brothers that she needed to see in order to try and bring herself some kind of inner peace over the whole situation, and she needed him to understand just how much his friendship had come to mean to her.

For so many years she had been alone. After her sister died there was nothing Destiny wanted more than for the men who had killed Savannah to return so that they could kill her too. At nine years old, all she had wanted to do was die…

Her footsteps came to a pause as she stood on the outside of his curtained door, her heartbeat picking up just a little bit faster as she thought about what she was going to say. There was nothing planned, of course. Despite her best efforts to come up with something each sentence sounded more pathetic and scripted than the last…so she had abandoned the notion that she might actually be able to plan for this meeting. Destiny inhaled slowly and let out a short exhale quickly afterward, turning her eyes to the curtain.

"Leo?"

The result was almost instantaneous. The turtle came through the curtain so quickly that Destiny jumped back a little in surprise, and soon found herself wrapped in a firm embrace that told her just how much he had apparently missed her company over the past few weeks. She returned the gesture with equal enthusiasm, holding on just a little more tightly than she had with Donatello.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "How are you feeling?" he asked her after a moment, releasing her enough that he could pull back and look her in the eye.

"Better," the human admitted softly. "Still trying to come to terms with certain things but overall, much better than I was."

Leonardo nodded slowly, his hands drifting to her upper arms. "Eight years is a long time to hold onto that kind of fear and anger."

"It is. But if Raph hadn't come to stop me that night then I don't know what would have happened."

His hands tightened around her arms a little as the distress began to show on his face. Dark orbs looked down into her face, as if he were silently pleading with her not to return to that frame of mind again. No doubt Raphael would have told them what she had said that night when she confronted Powers in his lab…and had he not been there to talk her down, she didn't doubt that she would have allowed the both of them to become trapped in the fire. And that would have been the end of the Hunter.

It would have been the end of a lot of things.

Sensing his discomfort, the brunette quickly shook her head and offered him a bit of a smile, hoping to set his mind at ease. "Hey, it's okay," she told him gently as she reached up to give his hand a firm squeeze. "It took me a little while to wrap my head around things but I'm still here. And if it's okay with you guys…I'd like to stick around for a while."

Leo blinked at her. "Really?"

Destiny nodded her head, the smile beginning to grow. "Leo, I've never really known what it's like to have people in my life who care about me. My parents abandoned me when I was a child, Savannah died when I was nine…all my life I've been afraid of what other people might think if they were to find out what I could do. It's like I told you the night that we met…we're really not so different, you and I. And just because you don't look like me doesn't mean you're not human where it counts."

She stepped in toward him again, arms wrapping around him as she lay her head against his chest. "I never realized just how much was missing from my life until you guys wandered into it. Now you've turn it completely upside down…and I can't imagine _not_ having you in it."

He didn't think that he could trust himself to speak. What words could possibly be said after that? So the turtle settled for the way things were in that moment, just the two of them standing in the hallway with his arms wrapped firmly around her smaller body as she warmed his chest with her touch. The sentiments that she expressed couldn't have been truer if Leo attempted to rephrase them himself. The girl that he had once hunted in the night to try and stop her vigilante ways was now perhaps one of the most treasured people in his life, a light at the end of a dark tunnel he hadn't realized that he had been stuck in. And he knew in the back of his mind that he would protect her just as fiercely as he protected the rest of his family, without question.

For a long moment the two of them seemed frozen in time, standing there without any regard for the fact that someone else might happen upon them in search of Leo or that someone might think their innocent embrace was perhaps not so innocent. But when that moment had passed Destiny drew back out of his arms and left a chill against his skin that Leo didn't welcome at all.

She lifted her eyes to his face, biting her lip nervously. "There is something I would ask of you though. Something that I need your help with."

The turtle nodded immediately. "Anything, Des…what is it?"

"I don't know that you're going to like it. But for your safety, I _have_ to do this."


End file.
